I finished a rewatch of Six Flying Dragons and after that magnificent emotional rollercoaster (it’s still my favorite historical kdrama of all time, btw), I knew I wanted something light and fluffy to clear my mind, so I randomly picked Spirit Fingers thinking it would be a drama about cheerleaders (I blame the movie Bring It On for this and it’s running gag about spirit fingers).
Spirit Fingers is not about cheerleaders. It is about a group of individuals who get together every weekend and practice art. Specifically, they practice quick figure sketching.
And it was one of the best kdramas I have seen in years.
This drama is based on a very popular webnovel of the same name by Han Kyoung Chal (한경찰) – which I read after I watched the drama and also highly enjoyed (there’s definitely enough material for a second season if they wanted to make one). It’s a story that just proves you can have a simple plot and even some well-worn tropes and still create an absolutely amazing, immersive, unique tale that will capture your attention and steal your heart.
It’s basically a coming of age story about a young lady who has just been going with the flow, overwhelmed with school work and trying to please her parents and just get by in life. One day she accidentally stumbles across this small group of artists and is asked to stand in as a model for them – something she never would have volunteered to do but agreed since a handsome man asked her (you are real for that, my dear). From there she is charmed by this random group of artists and decides to join the crew which they call Spirit Fingers.
The Spirit Fingers art group is the core of the drama. There are members in their 40s, their 30s, and their 20s – and each has a moniker, or nickname, in the group. Blue Finger, Mint Finger, Black Finger, and so on. Our protagonist becomes the youngest member, Baby Blue Finger. This eccentric small group of artists will absolutely win you over within a very short amount of time. They each have their own lives and stories outside of the sketch group, but come together each week to have a moment to shine – to be creative, wear costumes, escape the stresses of their lives, and draw (however they want to – their drawing styles are all uniquely different).
Our wallflower girl slowly gains confidence and new experiences as she becomes involved with this group. In particular, with the other teenager who starts out as one of their models but decides to join the group after he becomes fixated on the female lead.
The romance is spectacular. It’s the classic opposite’s attract pairing. He’s the super tall, super confident, super outgoing youth who doesn’t care too much about studying as he’s already successfully pursuing a career in modeling. She’s the short, shy, introverted one who is too flustered by him to take him seriously. They’re such a cute pair and their love story was genuine, with believable set backs and obstacles between them.
All the characters are grounded in realism and we are shown aspects of their personal lives outside of the drawing group. We get glimpses of where they work and live. They all have such distinctive personalities too, which really add to the group dynamics as you have all these perspectives and voices on whatever they are talking about together. The older members act as mentors but also as they are not parents or coworkers they are more casual with the younger members, able to joke with them and give them space to make their own mistakes without being overbearing or overly concerned.
Both the male and female leads have their own groups of friends, too, who have their own story lines. We are treated to many enjoyable scenes of teenagers stressing out and slacking off and just doing all the things that teenagers do together.
We also get to follow the storyline of the female lead’s family, which includes her parents and two siblings.
Though this sounds like a lot going on, it’s so perfectly integrated that it’s never overwhelming or confusing to have all these different people popping up.
The entire show is only 12 episodes and I was thoroughly engaged throughout it’s runtime. Sure, there were aspects that seemed implausible. Sure, some of it was a little too perfect. But it’s a romance, not social commentary, so I don’t expect 100 percent realism. Give me the impossibly large and always empty cafe with its multiple themed rooms for our artists to draw in. Give me a group of people who always fully commit to their costumes each week and show up in elaborately cool outfits to sketch. Give me that earnestly cute love story of the super hot guy who becomes impossibly smitten by the shy wallflower. I want all of that! I have zero complaints.
Watch it if you just want to be happy.
Rating: 10/10. A Feel-Good Story About Coloring Outside the Lines.
Revenged Love is about a young man whose girlfriend leaves him for a rich dude – and so the shafted little guy decides the best revenge would be to seduce her new boyfriend. He enlists the help of his gay bestie and fully commits to his scheme.
The plot was refreshingly different and took us through several plot arcs. There was obvious and meaningful character growth of all four main characters. It felt natural and real (within the context of this wild storyline), with a wide variety of sets, indoor and outdoor filming locations, and a solid pace throughout the 24 episode runtime. It was gorgeous without being overly cinematic. There were tons of side characters and tons of extras and it felt like everything was happening in the real world, not a closed set. I was never for a second bored.
I only have one complaint.
I finished watching the show this weekend and couldn’t help but mourn the loss of our main character’s libido in the second half of the series (why did this show get more PG after they’d had sex?). Sure, there were allusions to it, some very, very quick cuts, some fades, some implied naughtiness. But OMG, you filmed this outside of China so you could give us a live action version of one of the horniest characters ever written: Chi Cheng! A man whose love for snakes is only surpassed by his desire for ass, a man whose libido is so overwhelming he actually takes medication to calm his feral hormones down. The censors were not coming from you, Revenged Love, so why hold back? I’m not saying I needed full NC17 scenes in the second half of the show, but at the very least we could have had some hardcore, passionate make out scenes and more of the ass grabbing, aggressive boyfriend we’d come to love.
Alright, I’ve got one more tiny complaint and that’s it – I promise! Let me say as much as I enjoyed both actors playing the second couple, I think we can all agree it was clear one of them did not enjoy kissing men. Let’s be honest, that boy’s lips were firmly sealed.
Despite my minor complaints, this was still one of the best BL dramas I have seen in ages and I highly recommend it to everyone. I loved everything else about this show and have been active in the fandoms gushing and chatting about it all summer.
If ya’ll did not know, Revenged Love is based on the novel Counter Attack 柴鸡蛋 by Chai Ji Dan 柴鸡蛋, the same author who wrote Addicted and Advance Bravely. Addicted was the first Asian BL novel I read and I ate it up, but it was tame in comparison to Counter Attack which I read directly after. The source material has fast paced short chapters; yes, it’s sometimes extremely cringe, but it’s also brave enough to casually toss in taboos and insane behavior left and right, it’s very very sexy, and best of all it had me laughing out loud with all the jokes and witty banter. It was a memorable reading experience. The drama Revenged Love is a serviceable live action version. I’m actually quite proud of how much they kept in, while simultaneously being a tad disappointed at what was missing. Oh, the curse of book adaptations, am I right?
And don’t get me wrong – it was still very, very sexy even if it didn’t include the many intimate scenes in the book. The show still managed to be titillating and exciting. In particular Tian Xuning’s performance as Chi Cheng, slinking through every scene like panther who has locked in on their prey but first wants to play with it for a while. Ya’ll, the flirting and seduction scenes between these two were so hot! That man’s pursuit of Wu Suo Wei (and Wu Suo Wei’s pursuit of Chi Cheng followed by his hasty retreats) were soooo intoxicating to watch. They may not have given us much to work with as far as sex scenes are concerned, but for at least 60 percent of this drama it was clear there was only one thing on Chi Cheng’s mind and it was delicious to watch this deep voiced (thank you voice actor Shun Zi!) dom corner his man.
I would say the success of this show is entirely due to the tight script (a good script seems to be hard to come by in the BL industry) and its vivid trope-defying characters. The author of the original novel wrote the screenplay and was heavily involved in the show’s production – and you can tell she worked hard to bring her vision to the screen.
The actors knew who their characters were and nailed their roles. The dialogue felt natural, the line delivery was perfection, and the quirky scoffs, sexy purrs, frustrated sighs, alarmed squeals, and jittery rambling were all true to human behavior. Everyone was allowed to be many shades of gray. They made mistakes, they lied to each other and themselves, they were insecure and they were confident. They were emotionally varied, with pros and cons. None of that dull binary green flag / red flag business, these characters were human.
You will laugh, you might even cry, but most of all you will fall in love with these boys falling in love with each other. I hope we continue to get more uncensored adaptations of Chinese BL novels and webtoons in the future, because there are soooo many quality stories just begging to be brought to life.
If you haven’t watched Revenged Love yet – get on over to Viki or GagaOOLala or just go the Youtube page of the show.
Revenged Love – Overall Rating: 10/10 – Snakes, Sluts, and a Hot Polycule.
The Blossoming Love had all the things I adore in a Xianxia (fantasy) drama – magical arrays, cultivator sects, sword graveyards, gorgeous costuming, and an abundance of glowing, glittering special effects. It had mixed worlds and peoples (immortals, humans, demons, and more) and their usual struggle to get along. It may not have had the highest budget, but they used their money wisely. Everything looked fantastic.
But what elevated this drama into the upper echelon for me was the surprising development of the three main characters and the really wild plot line. Even by Xianxia standards (where anything can happen and usually does) this storyline stood out.
Quick Plot Summary for the Set Up (when things still seem “normal”):
In this story, there are two ancient divine artifacts: the book of fate and the chaos pearl. These two artifacts have been controlling all three realms since time immortal. Due to some dramatic events that will be revealed later in the show, the chaos pearl fell into the human world.
There is a magical barrier between the human world and the Dark Realm (a magical hellscape filled with evil immortals that can’t be killed cause they constantly reincarnate) – and that barrier is old and weakening, with the baddies inside eager to break free.
The chaos pearl was used to create the barrier between the Human World and the Dark Realm and it has been closely guarded by the cultivator alliance for centuries.
Recently a mysterious group has been helping the Dark Realm… trying to steal the chaos pearl and break the walls between the worlds forever…
That’s the basic set up of the drama to get you through ACT I.
Let’s peek at the major locations:
The Dark Realm
Snow City
Hanging Sky Pavilion
Jade Sky Palace
Profound Excellence Villa
Mirage Palace
The Heavenly Immortal Realm
Now let’s meet the three main characters!
***very mild spoilers for the first part of the drama below
They all have X names… so I gave most of them nicknames to help us out.
ML – XIE XUECHAN – “White Knight”
The male lead Xie Xuechan, our White Knight, is the most upright, moral, rigid and respectable man you can imagine. He’s the top sword cultivator in the realm, heir to the Snowy Mountain Sect folks who are guarding the chaos pearl, and a total badass in white robes.
Our White Knight has followed the righteous cultivation path, meaning he’s closed himself off from his emotions so he can care for all people equally, with no one in his heart who might sway or influence his decisions in protecting the whole world. He’s noble to a fault and you may not love him right away but trust me… you will fall hard for this big hunky man with an iron will and pure heart.
He’s irresistible.
The actor Vin Zhang is very manly, too – he doesn’t have the typical idol look, nor the beautiful ethereal look that I tend to lean towards. He’s a bigguy with a deep voice, exactly the type to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. I firmly believed he could protect all of humanity – by himself if need be. I mean… look at this colossal man!
Formidable. That’s the best word for him.
Only a certain type of dude can manspread to this extent and still look cool af.
He’s larger than life (and larger than the majority of chairs). Comically huge swords look natural in his hands instead of like cosplay props.
He can wear the most delicately embroidered robes – hell, you could put this dude in full drag – and you will not get any rainbow vibes from him whatsoever. He’s a zero on the Kinsey Scale.
He ain’t my type, but I love our White Knight. Just… totally love the dude.
And so does our exceptionally beautiful leading lady.
FL – MU XUANLING – “Saintess”
The female lead Mu Xuanling, also known as The Saintess of the Dark Realm, is a petite beauty whose only goal is to steal the heart of our stubborn White Knight cultivator… who in turn wants nothing to do with her. She’s a feisty spirit that cultivated demonic energy and is well known as formidable villain. Obviously not an ideal partner for the purest of pure heroes who is not supposed to fall in love – and obviously a perfect set up for the romance of the century.
In the opening scene our hero is tied up in the Dark Realm and our Saintess saunters right up to the guy and makes her intentions crystal clear.
When I say her only goal is to win her man, I mean it.
This girl is relentless.
A non-stop flirting machine.
She doesn’t care who is watching or what others might think.
She’s never gonna miss an opportunity to press herself against her big statuesque man, bat her lashes, and drop some innuendo. It’s a nonstop assault on his puritan armor.
And it is soooo fun to watch their push and pull dynamics!
After he escapes the Dark Realm in the first episode, his powers are temporarily locked away and this tiny spirit girl is suggestively bullying him – pushing him around, jumping on top of him, pinning in to the bed. He’s batting away her eager hands (or sexy legs), exasperated and very clear with his intentions but she will not be deterred! She is having the time of her life teasing this big dude.
And you can feel the zing between these two in their first encounter. Their chemistry is sizzzzzling. He’s saying no every five minutes but his eyes are always following her. You know he’s gonna break out of that restrictive shell eventually (and probably break a few bed frames with her).
Viewers, it’s deeply satisfying to watch a tiny woman claw her way into the pants of this huge virginal knight.
Whether fighting or flirting, they are the OPT of the year. They OWN this drama.
The casting director deserves an award, too. Just look at them! The height difference! The natural chemistry! The casual playfulness of their interactions both on and off screen!
Legends.
Listen, I was totally in love with the second male lead from the moment he came on screen – and I still didn’t ship anyone else with the leading lady other than this big hunky hero. Nothing could come between the two main leads, you hear me! Not even God! (spoiler? Haha, if ya know you know)
So let’s talk about my man – the second male lead.
SML – NAN XUYUE – “Xuyue”
The second male lead is Nan Xuyue, the character that made me lose my freaking mind and drove me to obsession. He is 10,000% my type, aka a pretty, pretty man with an agenda.
If you’ve seen Fangs of Fortune you might recognize him as the older brother of Yichen (and if you haven’t seen Fangs of Fortune then add it to your watchlist!).
He was also the sexy serpent guy in the movie The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity.
Wang Duo!
When will this actor be the lead in a drama, I ask you?
I am not alone in my second male lead syndrome – I think most viewers were spellbound by this complicated character. And I also think that as much as we loved our second male lead Xuyue, no one was seriously shipping him romantically with the female lead at any time throughout this drama. We were all happy to love him separately. Personally.
He was ours, damn it.
this is what I signed up for with C-Dramas… lovely, delicate men with perfect eyeliner and long wigs and exquisite robes… I could stare at this beauty all day….
Our beautiful, strange creature Xuyue.
Xuyue is a refined, calm, soft spoken, genius-type who rose to fame for creating exceptional magical arrays (teleportation wormholes, carriages that are bigger in the inside, letters turned into origami birds that fly to the intended reader, so many cool things). He’s the type of guy that plays chess by himself, playing both sides with equal seriousness. He does not delude himself as to his value or importance – he always knows when he’s got a winning hand or a losing hand.
He’s also a very insular character – closed off from others, and full to the brim of secrets. You can always sense the wheels turning in his head, leaving you wondering what he’s really thinking about in that vast and fathomless other world of his mind.
And at his side is his female servant, Feng Yao. She’s probably the only person who really knows this mysterious guy – and even she knows she doesn’t know everything about him.
At one point he and our White Knight were the two best fighters among the cultivators, both born with an extra aperture (the best cultivators have nine but these two boys both have ten). They were a cool duo, our White Knight wielding his massive sword, while Xuyue wields his magical fan.
But they did not stay a dynamic duo for long, as poor Xuyue’s body and apertures was broken sometime in the past, greatly reducing his powers and leaving him relegated to the side lines. The two cultivators are still friends though, with our White Knight being one of the few people Xuyue genuinely cares about.
Most second male leads are used as love rivals in dramas, but not Xuyue. He is something much more intriguing: a true outsider. More so than our hero White Knight who is isolated in leadership, and more so than our slave spirit Saintess who had to run away to hell to survive. Xuyue is an outsider because he’s basically a genius asexual sociopath (I don’t mean any of those terms in the derogatory sense either).
He is the definition of OTHER.
He understands the concept of feelings but struggles to actually feel them. When he feels anything at all he attaches an undue importance to them.
He’s someone who is no stranger to disappointment and has learned to keep a distance from the things that might hurt him, to observe from the peripheral. His insight into others is keen and accurate. He gets why people do the things they do… and recognizes that his own motivations and feelings are not the same as them. He knows he’s different.
And Xuyue is inexplicably drawn to our female lead.
They’d met briefly over a decade ago and the impression she left on him was far beyond a reasonable response. In the ten minutes they were together, he felt a sameness between them – something he had never felt with anyone else. What is instant connection? Who can explain why we feel comfortable with some people from the first encounter? He is as baffled by it as we the viewers are, but for whatever reason he is compelled by her – pulled towards her with a subtle urgency he cannot control or ignore.
And again it’s not a sexual attraction. He is well of how she feels about his friend and is fascinated by their interactions and their growing love for each other. But he’s like a man possessed. He just knows with each passing day his need to be near our little flirty Saintess grows stronger and stronger.
This dynamic was sooooo different from the norm.
Who can tell where the story is going when you’re given such an unusual “love” triangle?
I mean… WHAT??? That is quite a statement, Xuyue! If it wasn’t already clear from the beginning, it’s obvious by this point that Xuyue is a true wildcard.
As the fandom watched this show air – one of everyone’s favorite speculative games was WHAT IS XUYUE GONNA DO?! It was anyone’s guess – so we entertained ourselves imagining all kinds of crazy scenarios.
So… that’s our basic set up and three main characters and their dynamics.
There are more people than the three main characters of course – side characters, side couples, more bad guys and good guys and inbetween peeps too. This is such a well written show – even the super campy, cheesy characters have unexpected depth or insane backstories. You’ll have fun with all of them.
The Blossoming Love is a long drama (there are longer, of course, but this one is still quite lengthy). It’s 40 episodes jam packed with sects and secrets and reveals and reincarnations. My first experience watching it was several episodes at a time for several weeks as it aired. And I recently rewatched it before writing this review, committing to a binge watch of about ten or more episodes a day – and it holds up to my initial high impression of it (though admittedly binging a 40 episode drama is a task in our distracted age – so if you do binge it just put your phone down and take frequent breaks, cause what’s happening on screen matters). The best thing about lengthy shows is you can’t possibly remember everything – so rewatches are always full of rediscovery.
If you haven’t seen The Blossoming Love yet and you like fantasy dramas or romance dramas, go check it out. It’s available on some streaming platforms and docked on several pirate bays.
Trust me when I say it’s gonna surprise you and charm you. Several times.
After the madness unfolds (and it goes hog wild) and you’ve gotten through it all – come back here and let’s reminisce on the insanity of the second half of this drama together in the spoiler section below.
There is so much more to discuss because the first plot arc is just an overpainting of what’s really going on. This show unfolds like the puzzle box from Hellraiser. In that you might have expected something wild to happen but no one can me they were expecting the Cenobites, ya hear me? That story broke the mold as far as what our expectations of Hell were. This story breaks the mold as far as your expectations of rebirth stories in cdramas. (Is that Hellraiser reference too random? I was a Clive Barker girlie growing up)
Overall Rating: 10/10. Don’t Let Fate Decide: Love Your Lovers and Kill Your Gods.
WARNING!
Everything below is full of massive spoilers for the whole show!
This is how I imagine this show was pitched to the studio executive.
Writer: It’s gonna be a big budget fantasy epic – demons and demon hunters – gods and monsters – fate of the world in the balance.
Executive: It’s all about the face cards these days. We’ll need beautiful actors.
Writer: In the most exquisite and gorgeous costumes you’ve ever seen. We’ll get a cinematographer who can turn every shot into a work of fine art.
Executive: lots of slow mo.
Writer: tons of it. And perfect lighting and lens flare galore.
Executive: fog machines.
Writer: it will be so beautiful no one will notice the plot is kind of thin.
Executive: what?
Writer: so the leading character is this ancient demon who we quickly learn slaughtered everyone at a demon hunting bureau a few years back. He shows up at that same bureau and offers to help the sole survivor.
Executive: he’s a demon that’s gonna help demon hunters?
Writer: specifically this one demon hunter guy, yeah.
Executive: why this dude?
Writer: cause he’s got a cool magic sword and it’s the only weapon that can kill him. The demon wants to die really badly – he’s a suicidal mess behind a sad smile.
Executive: I imagine the demon hunter would be happy to do it. You said the demon killed all his people.
Writer: his brother, his father, everyone.
Executive: so… he kills him?
Writer: no, no. They just make a promise that the demon hunter will kill the demon. Later on. Someday. After the demon has helped him out.
Executive: help him do what exactly?
Writer: stop the other demon hunting bureau.
Executive: why would the demon hunter want to stop other demon hunters?
Writer: the other demon hunters are mean. They kill all demons on sight, whether guilty of any crime or not.
Executive: Okay….
Writer: That’s not important. I feel like it’s important to remember the demon is insanely good looking. And playful. And all powerful. The demon hunter is also ridiculously good looking. And serious. And figuring out his power.
Executive: sort of a ying yang thing? Soft one, hard one?
Writer: yeah these two are gonna have so much chemistry they can’t make eye contact very often cause every time they do it’s electric.
Executive: oooooooooooh. You know we can’t do those kinds of stories anymore, right?
Writer: They’re gonna slowly bond through overcoming obstacles and some verbal banter – lots of conversations turned confessions over tea in low voices with low lighting – very beautifully shed tears. I’ve got this whole dance number planned with water and fire…
Executive: Did you hear what I said?
Writer: The demon’s ex boyfriend is one of our main antagonists. He’s locked up in some cave, lounging around with his abs out, but he can possess people so he’s constantly showing up. He’s got this magical ability called truth eyes he can use to make people see him instead of the person he’s possessing, which is ideal cause this guy is just… incredibly attractive. Byronesque. Moody and broody and stupidly handsome. He’s clearly pissed off at his ex and is jealous as hell of this new demon hunter guy-
Executive: Yeah this all sounds extremely gay. Like I said, we really can’t do that.
Writer: oh don’t worry. They’ve got a girlfriend too.
Executive: they?
Writer: She’s a goddess who is supposed to rule over the demon world but she’s lost her magical powers so they’ve got to help her get those back. She’s quite sassy and flirtatious with our sexy demon right off the bat… and the demon hunter guy has had a crush on her for years.
Executive: So she likes the demon?
Writer: actually it’s pretty clear that she’s crushing hard on this female archer they bring into the mix.
Executive: wait –
Writer: there’s also a handsome mountain god who’s pretty old but in god years still a teenager. And he’s got a thing for this young medic who’s got a thing for the demon hunter.
Executive: that’s too many things. We can’t have that many love triangles. Or squares or… whatever is going on here.
Writer: alright alright, I’ll take out the mountain god and the medic couple. We can make the medic a kid.
Executive: the medical expert? Shouldn’t we make the mountain god the kid?
Writer: Anyways we’ll have them all together going on various adventures and quests. And there will be some exceptionally beautiful and sad love stories that unfold with side characters. Who are also exceptionally beautiful, naturally. Just about everyone is gonna have a tragic backstory. Lots of very pretty tears. Demons dying and disintegrating into burning embers that drift up beautifully towards the stars.
Executive: so it’s a melodrama?
Writer: with a lot of cool martial arts and magic and mysteries.
Executive: we’ll play that up in the trailer.
Writer: the sets are going to blow you away, too. When you aren’t mesmerized by the gorgeous faces of the characters, you’re eyeballing the intricacies of the sets or the beadwork of the costumes.
Executive: are they all gonna die?
Writer: most of them. We’ll have the audience sobbing into their pillows.
Executive: the demon and the goddess end up together?
Writer: they’re magically connected. And bound to stick together for all eternity by a contract the demon signed in blood. Which flies straight into the demon hunter dude’s hands after he spends a few decades searching the corners of the worlds for his soul. It’s very romantic.
Executive: The magical love contract goes to the demon hunter guy? We gotta give the censors some hetero content. Do the demon and the goddess at least kiss?
Writer: well… their faces get close at one point… from a certain angle…
Executive: I dunno. It still seems hella gay.
Writer: All the side stories are straight romances.
Executive: Oh, that’s good. People love love stories.
Writer: Every single one of them is going to rip their hearts out and light them on fire and scatter the ashes over their belief in happy endings.
Executive: I’m sensing a theme.
Writer: It’s gonna be xianxia opera. The gays are gonna ascend to a new dimension. The fujoshi’s are gonna squeal. At one point we have the two demon boyfriends running across the sea together, chests out, before they swear undying devotion to each other at the sacred tree-
Executive: we may have to blur out the man tits.
Writer: What? Why? Topless muscled men are our bread and butter.
Executive: I dunno, some new rule or something.
Writer: Fine, we can put magical smoke around them. The fans can see their abs in the behind the scenes footage.
Executive: we need to add some kind of viral element to it. For the tik tok people.
Writer: Other than the hot cast and all the shipping possibilities?
Executive: Can’t we get the whole cast to do some kind of synchronized dance or something?
Writer: I guess we can put something with the end credits.
Executive: Wait. You distracted me with all the pretty people. What’s the plot again?
Writer: oh yeah! So it’s about a demon and a demon hunter –
Ya’ll.
There is no point reviewing this drama as it is ALL ABOUT THE VIBES.
This drama is 1000 PERCENT STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE. So, if you want an intricately plotted drama, I suggest you watch Joy of Life or something – cause this is not it. This is a drama for aesthetics people, for poetry lovers, for dreamers who can look at a romantic scene and create a 17K word fanfiction about it. This is a show for people who doodle down the sides of their papers, who stare off into space lost in their imaginations, who can’t see a piece of a velvet without wanting to run their hands over it.
I loved it the first time I watched it and have rewatched it at least six or seven times since then. I’ve watched every fan video edit I could find, gushed over gif sets put together by tumblr fans, poured over lengthy think pieces and commentary rambles. It was just one of those shows that got under my skin.
FANGS OF FORTUNE – Overall Rating: 10/10 – Spellbound by the most attractive people on the planet crying over and flirting with each other.
As tempting as it was to jam pack this review full of media – I thought I’d hold back this time just in case you have not yet seen this show. Seeing it for the first time was such a memorable experience… I was gasping, falling in love, ogling the embroidery and beadwork of the costumes, checking out the elaborate hair jewelry, and fighting the urge to screen shot every single second of this visual feast.
So here is just a tiny, tiny sample from the fandom…
Alright, BL lovers! ABO Desire has won me over to the Omegaverse world via a slinky demon shark and a long suffering sensual secretary and I need to get everyone on board this crazy train with me!
Okay, so I’ve heard about the Omegaverse genre before – the term has been sprinkled around the fandoms for a few years now. I got a rough idea of what it was watching Pit Babe, but most people were commenting it was an Omegaverse-Light adaptation. It’s not like the Omegaverse genre is a secret, but what can I say? I’m pretty lazy sometimes and hadn’t bothered to learn more.
I knew it was basically some sort of science-fiction/fantasy concept with men getting pregnant, roughly based on the idea of alpha wolves – the top dog theory that has recently been disproved but still remains widely known (there are no alpha or beta wolves in the wild but rather families. The terminology of wolf hierarchy and pecking order was formed studying wolves in captivity). Regardless of whether or not this alpha wolf idea holds water, it’s still a fun concept to explore via fiction – which is what the Omegaverse is all about.
It’s kind of like vampires – in that other than the basics (fangs, drinking blood) how every creator approaches the genre may be slightly different from others.
In the drama ABO Desire, the Omegaverse world is the product of a global viral outbreak.
A few years back a highly contagious virus caused the death or mutations of all human beings on the planet. Those with AB blood were completely wiped out. Those with B blood were the largest group of survivors, but the virus mutated them to be nearly infertile, with only a 10 percent chance of conception. Those with A and O blood types were also nearly wiped out by the virus, with the few survivors being the most drastically mutated. They became intersex (more or less). Those with A blood became stronger and more virile, developing pheromones that act almost like supernatural powers, bending people to their will. Those with O blood became the most fertile (both girls and boys) going through mating cycles (they go into heat, basically).
Traditional gender identification was abandoned and replaced to reflect the new human condition. Those with A blood type became known as Alphas. O blood types became known as Omegas. And B blood types became known as Betas.
If this storyline is giving you a knee-jerk reaction, it’s okay. Just humor me a minute.
The Omegaverse is no less cringe than any transformation story. In the old mythologies it was snake headed ladies turning men to stone or it was rapist deities turning into bulls or swans. Curses, magic, rewards, or punishments could alter the human body. Inanimate objects could create life. Animals could transform into humans and vice versa. In almost all folklore you will find transformation stories. And everyone loves vampire and werewolf stories. Transformation stories rule.
So if you’re honest, it’s not the transformation aspect that is making you uncomfortable. It’s probably the idea of dudes getting pregnant.
But how does it work? you may be asking. The answer is… who cares? Just embrace the weird science of biological fluidity in this fantastical premise and have fun. We don’t tie ourselves into knots wondering how, scientifically, a wolf bite could turn a human into a shapeshifter or how a virgin could be biologically impregnated by a mystical god and still be a virgin. Just go with the fantasy flow. They may attempt to explain it in this series (or other Omegaverse stories, I don’t know), but so far it’s just one of those wonky things that is what it is because the author wrote it that way, like how a plague wiped out people by blood type. I don’t think a medical diagram of some Omegaverse reproductive organs is gonna make it any more or less believable, though I’m sure some fans and authors have certainly gone to great pains to create such things if you are interested.
The first three episode of ABO Desire have aired and honestly… it’s crack. I am devastated only a few episodes of this are airing each week while simultaneously being pleased I will still be watching this into October.
It’s a surprisingly fun show with a wild premise and an even crazier storyline taking place within that premise.
So let’s talk about it!
The main pairing is a successful CEO Alpha guy who’s desperately trying to get his hands on some critical research to develop the cure for a new type of cancer (which his father is currently dying of). He’s the only legitimate son and the family heir.
Now, before I go further… let’s take a step back and think about how the premise of the story is going to change the general narration of that tidbit of plot. Usually if a dude has a bunch of illegitimate children, it’s kind of frowned upon by society. But in this society, it’s almost the duty of Alphas to run around getting people pregnant, to ensure the survival of the human race. The old rules don’t apply anymore (I told you this story idea is really fun to play around in). Much like his daddy, our CEO Alpha is also a notorious player who goes through lovers every season or so, never getting too attached.
Now, you probably have an idea of what an Alpha Man is supposed to look like – especially if you were raised on Western media and unfamiliar with Omegaverse narratives. You are probably imagining some massive muscled type. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan the Barbarian. Perhaps Chris Hemsworth as Thor. That beefy dude who played in The Witcher. Something like that, right? And probably not this dainty, pale, handsome Chinese man who looks like a lesbian.
Ain’t no rules in the wild world of Omegaverse!
Your Alphas can be porcelain dolls or hulking titans, depending on the author. And lest we forget, they can also be girls. I actually really enjoy that there isn’t any striking physical differences between the A, B, and O types. Makes it more fun to speculate.
Anyhoo, this pretty man Alpha is being targeted by a mysterious demon shark character who we are introduced to in the opening sequence. He’s gorgeous and slinky and his agenda is to seduce this dainty Alpha CEO. We don’t know why yet, as he’s obviously extremely wealthy and powerful himself so that isn’t the reason. We just know he’s picked out this particular CEO and has gone to great pains to figure out what kind of person he’s attracted to so that he can model himself after that type of person and seduce him.
We also know he’s an Enigma – which is some special super rare mutation that’s the most powerful of all types and can get an Alpha pregnant. So maybe he’s just looking for a baby-daddy and it’s as simple as that. Time will tell.
Introducing Hua Yong – the antagonist of this show (who is also the protagonist). Master Manipulator. Absolute Queen of Deception. Stalker Princess of Power.
I am already obsessed with this gorgeous Enigma demon shark.
The plotline of the noble, poor innocent winning over the player rich boy is so cliche and overdone. However – the plotline of a demon shark PRETENDING to be a noble, poor innocent to win over a player rich boy is GOLD.
It’s so fun to watch this Alpha player get played.
This very lesbian-coded CEO has absolutely no idea he’s totally out of control of this situation and it’s hysterical! He’s getting all his buttons pushed and is all flustered and horny and pissed off and enamored and we’re all smugly watching knowing he’s being conned. I can’t quite feel sorry for him, either, which makes it even more fun to root for the villain.
And shark boy is truly terrifying – I have a feeling there isn’t much he’s not capable of doing to get what he wants.
The casting director deserves an award. Eliot Huang was born to play demon shark Hua Yong! He’s nailing this dual role of the burdened sweet virgin and the devious seductress to perfection.
Demon shark is so evil!
He’s even stolen his backstory (including his tragically ill sister who has been hospitalized for who knows how long) from another character in the drama.
Which leads me to the second pair of leads.
There’s another Alpha CEO who is running a company in competition with our main lead. Just like our other CEO, he’s rich, young, fussy, and aloof – but for some reason this Alpha dude hates Omegas. Absolutely can’t stand them and refuses to be anywhere near them.
Which is a problem for his faithful secretary and long-time acquaintance, Secretary Gao Tu.
Poor Secretary Gao has been hiding the fact that he’s an Omega for years and years, taking suppressant drugs and risking his life to stay… dare I say… closeted. I’m a sucker for self destructive, suffer in silence types, so naturally I just want to eat him up.
This is the pitiful creature our demon shark stole his backstory from. Secretary Gao is the actual guy who has a sister in the hospital and is drowning in debt and unrelenting bills and living in squalor… the real Cinderella waiting for a prince to rescue him.
He’s such a sensual disaster of a man. I mean look at this poster!
He’s all wet and soft and handsome and submissive. Why there isn’t a line of men and women outside his door waiting to plant him into a mattress I will never understand. At least someone will get on him eventually…
It’s going to be satisfying to have our Omega-hating CEO fall hard for this pretty, pathetic kitten-in-the-rain Secretary Gao. Hopefully. I mean, it’s only been three episodes, this show may crash and burn, who knows.
I’ve started reading the novel “Desire” (垂涎) by Nong Jian (弄简) and this is a very faithful adaptation so far. Clearly everyone involved respects the vision of the source material. I’m trying not to read too far ahead cause I don’t want to lose my anticipation for the upcoming episodes.
From the web novel cover it looks like somehow they’re going to pull a happy ending out of this insane story too. I’m enjoying speculating how this hardcore emotional and sexual manipulation is going to turn into genuine romance. Could you ever trust someone like demon shark once you know what he’s capable of? I dunno, maybe trust is overrated. People believe in all kinds of irrational things without a hint of evidence so it makes sense affairs of the heart would be the same.
Hua Yong may be an orchid to everyone in the book, but he’s a demon shark to me.
I hope he murders some people. Something beyond the pale so there’s no easy way to say “ooo but he had his reasons.” Cause there’s something very appealing about presenting a villainous character as the genuine love interest you’re supposed to root for. It isn’t done very often. I hope they don’t make any excuses for him. I hope he’s just a manipulative crazy bastard because he can be. Honestly, the more villainous he is the more I’m going to enjoy the story – including the subsequent romance.
We can have sweet romance with Secretary Gao and his petty CEO – but let’s leave the main couple in toxic hell together please.
This show is playing on several different streaming app platforms and of course the usual pirate ship bays. Maybe this post convinced you to give the Omegaverse live-action drama a try. It feels like history is being made with this one.
(I’ll rate it once it’s over – but right now it’s 10/10 for me)
The wheels never stop turning in cdrama land, with new long and short videos flying out across various platforms every week. I certainly don’t have time to commit to all of them – but I keep up with the fandoms and usually pick up which dramas that are driving the viewers wild for whatever reason. It’s a team effort that requires a coordinated plan of attack to make the most of our valuable time. So here is my contribution to perhaps help someone pick their next watch.
THE GOOD STUFF
The Blossoming Love (xianxia romance) – 10/10
Currently my favorite drama of 2025.
I’ve got a full massive review of this one is the works and am actually editing it down now cause I may have gotten carried away and written a novella of a musings and nonsense that is too much… even for people who like lengthy rambles. But until that comes out, just know I loved this one. Concept and character-wise, it blew my mind.
The Legend of Zang Hai (mystery revenge) – 10/10
This revenge epic is full of twists and turns and intense episodes. Unlike most costume drama tales of revenge this one did not heavily feature martial artists or depictions of war. Though it was centered on court politicians nearly all of the action took place outside of the palace – in offices, in homes, in small gatherings around the dinner table, in construction sites and tombs. It was a personal revenge story and stayed focused on the people being targeted.
It also had a ton of contraptions, puzzles, secret passageways, booby-traps, and hidden rooms… and my raised on Indiana Jones soul was very happy to explore all this with the main character from the safety of my living room.
There were some moments of comedy and romance but overall this is just a gripping, unique, well-written mystery definitely worth watching once (which should be enough – this is not a comfort drama you’ll revisit for fun – I’m pretty sure it gave me ulcers it was so intense).
The Prisoner of Beauty (costume drama romance) – 10/10
Enemies to lovers, anyone?
This show was a masterpiece, exploring the nature of soft feminine power (both its merits and its limitations) in ye olden days. A smart, petite young lady is married off to a terrifying war general as a peace offering. Her future husband wants nothing more than to see her and everyone else in her entire bloodline wiped from the face of the earth, preferably by his own sword. So, you know, obviously not an ideal situation for our tiny little lady.
This isn’t a show about misunderstandings as much as it is about seeing the bigger picture in political conflicts and war, and the many shades of gray when humans struggle for power. And it’s just a deliciously good romance – with real threats of danger, one step forward two steps back, and a satisfying and realistically slow change of hearts for both characters.
The Demon Hunter’s Romance (fantasy romance) – 9/10
This one started off as an enjoyable side dish of a show I was watching as it aired, two eps dropping each night. But after a while I found myself looking forward to seeing what would happen next, and then it became the show I ran home to watch. This was entirely due to the insane natural chemistry and easy romance between the two leads.
They genuinely felt like two people falling in love for the first time. Playful, insecure, sometimes silly and sometimes serious, the easy smiles, the talking-talking-talking, the eyes that light up every time the other comes into the room. I did not know Allen Ren had it in him to portray someone so capable and yet so utterly at a loss in love. It’s magical, really, when watching a love story unfold that makes it feel like you, too, are falling in love.
The actual plot was good too, mind you. Though the last twenty minutes were horrible – and apparently / allegedly not how it was originally scripted but changed by the production company based on an AI’s assessment of what a good ending should be (getting a robots opinion of how to end a romance story was a terrible idea in the first place). I can’t scrub the last episode from my mind, so it dropped down from a perfect 10/10 for me to it’s current rating. Still highly recommended for the love story.
Eternal Brotherhood 2 (fantasy action) – 9/10
Set in a fictional realm, this action series continues to follow the war bonded brothers from the first season (a goofy hero with a secret identity and destined to save the world vibes, a serious and loyal dude who is getting over the heartbreak of losing his true love, and a terrifying slaughterhouse machine who is just deliciously soft for his wife).
I actually liked this season more than the first (which I also liked) – as I had finally figured out the plot and all the factions and mechanics of the world and could just enjoy the stories unfolding. In particular I loved the goofy hero with his motley crew of misfits who were busy sorting out divisions between tribes on the border towns. This series feels really different from the norm (Iike Arthdal Chronicles was completely unique amongst historical fantasy kdramas) and it’s not over yet… so you might want to hold off until the series is complete if you haven’t seen season 1.
A Moment But Forever (xianxia romance) – 9/10
A surprisingly fresh fantasy romance and a nice win for Liu Xueyi whose last few attempts at leading roles were doomed by script issues or bad chemistry. In this one he plays a weary, abused, philosophical type and the female lead is an optimistic crafty type (as in she’s a literal craftsman who builds things and is used to practical problem solving). The characters felt very true to themselves and I honestly wasn’t sure where the plot was going to lead them, but I was happy no matter what happened along the way it only fortified these already solid characters more. Good worldbuilding. Good plot. Good romance. Good stuff.
Love in Pavilion (xianxia romance) – 9/10
Do you like sad, beautiful love stories? This show was jam packed with gorgeous characters and each one of them had an achingly beautiful but heartbreaking love story. The overall plot was great, the villains well developed (even the baddies had beautiful, sad love stories!), the world building solid and understandable. There were a ton of characters in this drama but it never felt overbloated or difficult to keep up with them all. The costumes and sets were a top level fantasy feast for the eyes.
It took me a while to warm up to the main couple but once I did, I was massively invested in their story. But I’ll be honest, one of the random tangential stories absolutely stole the whole show by sheer power of the acting prowess alone (Ding Yuxi’s dual performance of “twins” had me bawling, ya’ll! It was Shakespearean, I tell ya).
The First Frost (modern melo-romance) – 8.5/10
This is a story about a beautiful girl who has been through a lot of abuse, including sexual assault, and she’s basically curled herself up into a small space (emotionally, socially, physically) in attempts to protect herself and survive. Enter the boy who has loved her since high school – who is the white knight extreme sports edition. Patience, thy name is the male lead of this drama.
Trust is the main thing lost in abuse, and this drama took the time to slowly, slowly, slooooooowly, heal the broken trust of our leading lady. It’s just a sweet, touching romance if ya like that sort of thing. I wanted this sad girl to be happy just as much as the male lead.
The Glory (costume drama historical) – 8/10
Trashy, soap opera style fun. Everyone is the antagonist in this show, there are no good people. It’s just vicious, plotting, scheming, pure evil nonsense which can be hella enjoyable if you’re in the mood for it. This is a great show to pop in after you’ve watched something slow paced or serious and just want a fun ride with bad people doing terrible things.
I heard a lot of grumbling over this show in the fandom from people who either didn’t like the male lead or the female lead or both – or who thought it was unrealistic and everyone was horrible – and yeah, okay, I guess. I personally thought the two leads were good choices (both not the strongest actors in my opinion – so this was a great role for them since they just had to be broody 24/7) – and yeah, it’s unrealistic and all the adults are nightmare people, but that was the plot, peeps. No one watches soap operas or the Real Housewives or whatever to watch good folks working out their problems reasonably. Sometimes you just want blood on the floor, dig it? (I love the poster, with all of them holding weapons in the page tear – that’s good graphic design!)
LESS GOOD AND/OR JUST BAD
Si Jin (fantasy costume drama romance) – 7/10 – there’s a lot of these reborn stories lately, which is fine, I enjoy the concept. And I enjoyed this one… for a while. But before the halfway mark I had already lost interest. Just not enough going on plot-wise to go on and on for 40 hours, ya dig? It wasn’t awful but there are definitely better options in this genre.
Love of the Divine Tree (xianxia romance) – 7/10 – I know a lot of people loved and adored this drama, and I hoped I would be one of them. But… no. It started out okay but quickly fell apart for me. I could never believe the female lead put together a sect or trained others as a master – it was hard enough to suspend belief that she belonged in a costume drama in the first place. Sometimes you just can’t overcome a bad casting decision (Feud and In Blossom, I am staring directly at you).
Guardians of the Dafeng (fantasy action comedy) – 6.5/10 – just not my brand of fantasy. The last episode packed a punch with a shockingly emotional ending but overall it was just too goofy and too “dude” (for lack of a better word) to really land with me. A lot of people loved this one though, so you might check it out.
Moonlight Mystique (xianxia romance) – 6/10 – the second couple far outshined the leads in this one, but even so this is just not a very good drama. The script is a mess, the cinematography is a hate crime (seriously, the lighting is appallingly bad – so bright you can see the paint chips on the set piece rocks, random color spotlights aimed without rhyme or reason, it’s an assault on aesthetics – which is one of the major appeals of xianxia dramas – thus an unforgivable sin).
Feud (xianxia romance) – 5/10 – the script is the main issue with this drama, but also I don’t think the leading man was the best decision either. This character would have been better if it was played in true tsundere fashion – with the god being an insufferable pompous jerk with a massive ego, who we find out is secretly kind and who slowly lets go of his insecurities and bloated ego enough to realize things are better when you work together and care for others. I’m not sure Joseph Zeng could pull off playing a jerk character, though, as he’s got such soft puppy dog eyes. I just felt sorry for him watching this show… until I gave up on it after 26 eps I just couldn’t do it to myself any more.
Filter (fantasy romance) – 6/10 – I tried. It started out intriguing but this is just a mess of a show. I will say it’s cool that they’re trying out some weirder plotline stories. This one felt very webtoon-centric to me, though, and a little immature and lacking in substance to back up the fantastical plot.
Listen, I don’t have too much to say about this drama other than recommending everyone watch it. Especially if you have been missing that “old school” kdrama vibe. And by that I mean the dramas that are kinda shallow, ridiculously over the top, and just highly enjoyable for those very reasons. There’s kidnapping and black mail and evil moms and devious politicians and a whole complicated web of birth secrets. All wrapped around a single-focus, steamy romance. It’s delicious.
This drama is about a very wealthy and high status dude whose fiancé ran off the day before the wedding so he married her little sister instead. As a stand in. But now it’s been three years and they are still married, living in the same gorgeous but rather lifeless mansion together, sleeping in separate rooms, and not speaking to each other. They don’t speak because his stand in wife is deaf. Circumstances are about to conspire to throw this cold married couple into the fire and you’ll be fanning yourself from the heat these two produce when in close proximity.
The male lead is aggressive and domineering and good looking in his expensive suits. The chemistry between him and his big eyed wife could burn down a house and it’s sexy every time he backs her against a wall or throws her around or shields her with his body or whatever nonsense is happening. She’s that perfect mix of vulnerable and plucky. They are a perfect pair… they just haven’t realized it yet. And watching them figure it out is deeply satisfying as a viewer.
It’s a mystery – so the less you know going in the better. Honestly, don’t read anything else about it, just trust the hype and settle in for some good, juicy kdrama. There are so many twists and turns and surprises, you’ll find yourself flying through the episodes. And there’s only 12 episodes. Admittedly, the final story arc of this show was it’s biggest weakness and keeps it from being a perfect 10/10, as it definitely stumbled and fell flat. Does that diminish its perfect performance? I mean, yes, a bit, as unfortunately your ending does matter to the judges as well as the viewers. But I guarantee you will have a blast with this show until then. And hopefully we can all collectively scrub the last few eps from our brain and just remember how great this little masterpiece was when we look back on it.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10 – Blackmailing Your Way Into Your Partner’s Pants, A Love Story
Here are some other K-Dramas I watched this year (most of them from 2024) that were good, decent, or I dropped. None of these were worth a full review, in my opinion, but there were quite a few that I truly enjoyed this year.
Dramas listed in alphabetical order.
The Atypical Family (2024) – Overall Rating: 7/10.
I’m popping this up to a 7 only because the plot line was truly unique. I’m not interested in super hero stories, but I liked this drama as it showed how super powers would most likely be used by more “average” people. You know, basically for self-serving reasons only, which seemed pretty honest. The romance was below-average, but the familial relationships made up for it – in particular the father-daughter relationship and the unusual relationship between the leading lady and her thug mother.
Black Out (2024) – Overall Rating: 9/10.
This is a dark themed show that does not let the light in. If you like dark crime shows or intense murder mysteries, then this one is for you! I loved it, even though it was depressing as hell. Reminded me of a Nordic murder mystery… cold… bleak… and compelling.
Blood Free (2024) – Overall Rating: 7/10.
Probably deserves a lower score, but the concept was amazing. Set in the near future, when scientists have perfected creating meat and fish products in a laboratory and are about to start tackling manufacturing grains. It dived into the inevitable backlash of such a breakthrough: the protesting farmers, the suspicious consumers, the fight to keep the science proprietary. Ya’ll know mad science is one of my all time favorite genres, so I was having a ball! A stoic bodyguard lurking around all sexy in his tailored suit and a hardened business woman with a secret laboratory? The K-2, anyone? Sigh. The side characters had more personality than the two leads, unfortunately, and the plot didn’t really pick up the pace until the final episodes, but I still enjoyed this short drama and hope there will be a second installment.
Call It Love (2023) – Overall Rating: 7/10.
This should have been one of my favorites, as I love stories exactly like this, but somehow it just didn’t climb to the top of the ladder for me. I’d still definitely recommend it if you are a fan of slow-burn romances and complicated family melodramas. I admit I enjoyed watching the sad, overworked and overburdened daughter falling in love with the sad, pitiful rich boy with a terrible haircut (their chemistry was not electric, but it didn’t detract from the romance either). This drama has all the requirements for a good melodrama: selfish parents who put themselves before their families, best friends who show us different sides of main leads, side romances that are equally interesting to watch unfold, and overdramatic family situations that keep the tension high.
Connect (2022) – Overall Rating: 7/10.
It’s so weird that I loved it. More mad science! Horrah! This is a show for people who like to read comic books. Or anime. The plotline does not feel realistic in any way and seems better suited as visual storytelling. It’s got human beings that have been enhanced so that they can never die, their body parts just piece themselves back together if removed. It’s got serial killers and illegal organ harvesting and art students. It’s got eerie vibes… icky elements of science fiction body horror… and artistic serial murders in the style of the Hannibal tv series. It’s not a satisfying plot nor does it have satisfying character development or relationships. It’s just like reading a quick gory one shot manga. A fun snack. If ya like that type of thing, then you might like this.
DoDoSolSolLaLaSol (2020) – Overall Rating: N/A.
I was really enjoying this until I found out the leading man was a teenager and then it just felt too creepy to continue. I work with teenagers. It just crossed over one of my mental lines and I could no longer enjoy it.
The Frog (2024) – Overall Rating: 7/10.
A surprise, for sure. And a must watch for thriller and mystery lovers. Two murders in two different locations within the same small town at two different times. We get to watch and discover how these separate events overlap and unfold as the tension slowly builds and escalates each episode. But I think if you’ve seen it, you know the leading female carried this entire show on her psychotic shoulders. I can’t say I will ever watch this show again, but I will confess I was spell bound by the insanity. Kim Yoon Suk deserves an Oscar for her performance. She was truly unhinged.
The Golden Spoon (2022) – Overall Rating: 7/10.
I think we all know how obsessed the Koreans are with their insanely rich people. They both love them and aspire to be them while simultaneously loathing them and imagining their lives are nothing but shallow and meaningless. This is yet another story that plays with that theme, but I had a good time watching this story of two boys from different economic classes switching places. It had a few surprises and kept me guessing how it would all end. These types of stories pop up nearly every year with varying success (The King’s Affection, The Crowned Clown, Reborn Rich, and so on).
High School Return of a Gangster (2024) – Overall Rating: 9.5/10.
I really had a blast with this show. It was shamelessly stripped of all its gay elements, which is insane as it’s based on a popular BL, but… I don’t think I mind. The original story was a bit problematic, honestly, with a man in his 50s taking over the body of a bullied high school kid and then getting romantically involved with a teenage boy. So for once I was happy to have that aspect toned down, as it just seems weird no matter how you look at it.
Age differences are okay with immortal creatures or monsters but a regular middle aged gangster dude falling in love with a teenage boy was too much for me to get behind. That’s a 30+ year age gap, people, and predatory.
I like that instead they hinted at a suppressed love between the gangster and his right-hand-man gangster dude (played by Won Tae Min who was in my favorite BL of the year The Time of Fever). And the show made it clear that the bullied boy was definitely queer, and thus the confusion of the other young male lead who now sees an old dude staring at him through the boy’s eyes instead of a besotted teenager.
It was short and fun and I was grateful to have a “lesson of the day” type storyline without the usual preachy tropes. This story kinda broke the mold a bit. Feel good but also a realistic portrayal of how a middle aged man would tackle scrappy teenagers and a second chance at life… (as realistic as you can be with the premise).
A Killer Paradox (2024) – Overall Rating: N/A. I dropped this one too, though I love the actors in it. It just felt too similar to other shows and I couldn’t make it past episode 3.
Love Next Door (2024) – Overall Rating: 7/10.
It was cute. I enjoyed the families and the romance. But it didn’t endear itself to me like other romances have in the past. Still… a solid choice for those seeking a cozy family comedy/drama with a sweet friends to lovers romance.
Love Song for Illusion (2024) – Overall Rating: 7/10.
It’s a messy story, but I had so much fun watching Park Ji Soon bounce between the two “personalities” of his character that I cannot complain. I will say my engagement with the story dropped significantly around the halfway mark. Thankfully it was only 16 episodes. Not much of a romance, but the story of the prince and his fractured psyche really drew me in.
Lovely Runner (2024) – Overall Rating: 6/10.
I was soooo into this. And then I just wanted to throw myself out of a window cause it was toooo much. Too, too much. Like caricatures of caricatures. The cheesiness overwhelmed me. It took me forever to finish this one, I had to force myself to go back.
My Sweet Mobster (2024) – Overall Rating: N/A.
It started out cute. But I got bored with it quickly.
Racket Boys (2021) – Overall Rating: 7/10.
In the mood for a feel-good show about a bunch of people in a small town coming together to support a small group of boys play badminton? A wonderful slice-of-life show about friendships and family.
A Shop for Killers (2024) – Overall Rating: 7/10.
I had a good time with this one. It’s simple and violent. A young lady discovers her uncle was an arms dealer after his death – and has to fight to protect herself as various members of the underworld try to take over the business. A perfect cat and mouse action show that filled up an afternoon. If you liked Hanna or even La Femme Nikita, you’ll probably enjoy this.
Sweet Home Season 3 (2024) – Overall Rating: 6/10.
Sigh. I still love Season 1, I think it’s one of the best horror k-dramas of all time. Honestly, one of the best horror dramas from any country. But Seasons 2 and 3… total let down.
Under the Queen’s Umbrella (2022) – Overall Rating: 7/10.
A solid historical drama and yet another one that just didn’t quite land for me personally. I think if I had not seen dozens of other historical dramas, this one would be an all time favorite. It was a unique angle for palace politics. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a drama about the problems of not preparing all your royal children to be crown prince candidates before. I enjoyed the brothers and the queen really shined with her bestie palace maid. There are no filler episodes, the story builds over the season, and the character development is quite good. Check it out.
I have just discovered I did not write a review for Blind, despite it being one of my favorite dramas in 2022. It’s got everything I love. Siblings with strained relationships but a deep connection, gruesome murders, and unfolding mysteries linked to secret atrocities that are slowly revealed. I thoroughly enjoyed every episode and am gonna run you through the general set up for it – and what happens in the first episode (so spoilers for the first episode follow!)
Blind opens to a group of young boys, elementary to middle school aged, in matching dirty uniforms running through the woods as vicious dogs chase them down through the night. These boys are terrified and desperate. It’s clear they are running from more than just the dogs… but a horrible situation.
One of the boys gets his foot caught in a bear trap. Another boy is waiving down a car for help only to be run down on the road. Savagely the drivers put the car in reverse, running over the kid a second time, ensuring his death. Those who are uninjured are quickly surrounded and trapped, their escape attempt thwarted. A man the boys call Crazy Dog narrows in on them, whistling an eerie tune.
– and the scene closes on a child’s wide eyes before it cuts away… to an equally horrifying scene in present day 2022.
A young lady is kidnapped off the streets and wakes up in a plastic lined room tied to a chair (never a good scene). She is strangled by an unknown man… who is whistling the same creepy tune as Crazy Dog.
Back at home her parents await her return, hanging up balloons, the entire house decorated for the young lady’s birthday. She will never come home.
The stage is set.
The basic mystery presented:
Who were the children? And where were they? Did any of them escape? Who is the person that murdered the young lady? Is he connected to the man that was hunting the children in the first scene? Is it the same man?
I was riveted and hooked after 15 minutes.
We meet our main character, Sung Jun (Taecyeon), in the next scene. He is a cop amongst the crew called out when the girls body is discovered on the outskirts of town.
Sung Jun’s older brother Sung Hoon (Ha Seok Jin), is a judge. But not just any judge, he’s a righteous man known for his unfailing devotion to fairness. He eats alone, he refuses to take any bribes, and won’t even help a family member who got into trouble. The law is just in his eyes. It is only people who are fallible.
We learn quickly that both parents seem to loathe their police officer son while they dote on their judge son. It is not a happy home.
We learn the two brothers live together. That the cop brother has a history of violence and was often in fights as a youth. The judge implicates maybe he became a cop to continue a life of violence, and the suggestion clearly upsets the police officer.
Big brother judge is overseeing the murder trial of the girl strangled, now nicknamed “Joker’s Murder Case,” because of the wounds on her face. The suspect was caught in a security camera threatening the victim with a knife… but he claims another man was involved – our young police officer! Could the judge’s suspicions be true?
The show flashes back once again to the young boys hiding in fear from the opening scene. The whistling man who is hunting them is finally revealed… It is the father of the young woman who’s been murdered. And as the camera pans in on one of the young boys, it cuts back to modern day – to our police officer.
Are they same?!
Was the murder truly an act of retribution? For whatever horrible things were obviously happening with those boys???
Ya’ll. I had to know. I knew I wasn’t going anywhere until I’d burned through this entire show and binged it all over the weekend.
Overall Rating: 9/10 – A Dark Murder Mystery About the Dark Side of Humanity.
Read on for some very mild spoilers… and the connection of this show to true events
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