Romance

Review – The Blossoming Love

/ Lady Divine / Leave a comment

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 big guy 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.

gifs by @natahjikio – link

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.

gifs by @cdramastuff – link

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.

gif by @cdramastuff – Link

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?

gifs by @cdramastuff – link

I love the way she loves you.

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!

Continue reading →

ABO Desire – Discovering the Omegaverse

/ Lady Divine / 5 Comments

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)

C-Drama Round Up – Jan-June 2025

/ Lady Divine / Leave a comment

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.

Review – The Double – Style Over Substance

/ Lady Divine / Leave a comment

The Double is an outrageous, preposterous, totally ridiculous drama that is sure to please if you’re in the mood for over-the-top theatrics and CAMP. We are talking the most ludicrous plot line of all time, a complete disregard for historical accuracy, and fan machines running nonstop to ensure no strand of hair, ribbon, or robe is ever stationary. There will be a breeze gently wafting through this show at all times. Even indoors. Especially indoors.

Personally, I am a fan of such dramas – as long as they fully embrace their soap opera hearts and commit to the insanity. It’s why I loved the Korean drama Penthouse with its rich socialites throwing each other out the windows because of opera (truly a stand out show in the camp genre). It’s why I loved Bulgasal: Immortal Souls, which was fantasy camp nonsense through and through and I adored it. Devil Judge? Pure gay camp and politics. To be camp is to be a dumpster fire covered in glitter. Not many shows can maintain the sheer disregard for logic in favor of fun. Once you realize you are viewing a camp show, you must immediately stop asking questions and just go with the flow.

The Double is the story of a woman who wakes up one foggy evening to find herself framed for adultery (or is it early morning? time is nebulous in this show – between the fog machines and the spotlights aimed through every window, you will never know what time of day it is). To add insult to injury, her husband whisks her away into the night and dumps her into an unmarked grave. He confesses that the whole thing has been a set up, that her brother and father have been killed, and that he’s really sorry, baby, so so sorry, as he proceeds to crack her in the head with a shovel and bury her alive.

This all happens in the first fifteen minutes. It’s delicious. Soft white petals fall on her grave. I really wanted to see her hand shoot up from the grave, gripping that flute he’d tossed in with her.

And when that happened?!

OMG the audacity of this show to be so absurd?! The CAMP nonsense!

I cleared my viewing schedule as I knew I’d found THE DRAMA to get me through the next few days.

Our murdered wife crawls out of her own grave and resurfaces by a creek/river. She is found by two young ladies in white, who we discover are psuedo-nuns (aka, ladies who have been sent to old timey juvie for whatever infractions).

Super conveniently one of the young girls dies right away and even though the resurrected wife looks nothing like her and there’s at least a ten year age gap, she promptly steals her identity. She does not attempt to change her style or her appearance in any way and moves back into the same town she just came from, with a different name.

Cause, sure. I mean. Sure. Let’s do that.

Our “reborn” girl now has to pretend to be this other girl, move into her home, deal with her evil stepmom and stepsister, torment her murderous husband while solving her own murder (she knows WHO did it, she just doesn’t know WHY), flirt with a sexy Duke, and maybe help out the royals or whatever. It’s enough to keep you busy.

I don’t have much to say about this drama’s plot. Revenge. Romance. Really beautiful scenery. That sums it up.

I watched it and it was enjoyable because of all the camp nonsense. The insane entrances of characters, the deliciously overdramatic dialogue, the spotlights outside every window giving us these fabulous shafts of light in interiors, the swishing fans, the billowing robes… the thunderstorms!

I think this is a good time to point out one of the director (or perhaps cinematographer) quirks: close up shots of faces. Really close up. Usually cropped at the forehead, a wee bit of shoulder, with the giant head often staring straight into the camera – and thus at you.

What a waste of all those elaborate hair styles and bun ornaments, am I right? Not that everyone doesn’t look beautiful at all times, but geesh… give us some space, camera man! I have a relatively large television and felt overwhelmed by these massive full screen looming faces.

I guess that’s my only real gripe.

There are plenty of interesting and unique characters in this show. I particularly enjoyed the crazy Princess Wanning. That actress had me spellbound with her performance. I could totally believe a man might be trapped by her, caught between lust and fear.

gifs by @jiaoliqiao – link

I think if you haven’t watched a lot of melodramas, or are new to Asian dramas, then this show may be a perfect 10 for you. Due to the excessive campy nature of the entire production, I could not take it seriously as a true melodrama. It was more like… Bram Stroker’s Dracula. A glorious, color saturated fever dream with ridiculous embellishments that no one minded cause… Dracula? Uh, yeah, of course the church cross is going to spout blood when you stab it. Don’t question our creative choices!

Our leading male Duke Su was a riot. I can honestly say I was always happy to see him saunter into the scenes with his red and black robes.

I’m not convinced this guy is the best actor, but this is what we call GOOD CASTING. They needed a big hunky man with swagger and that is what was delivered.

I mean… seriously…

Duke Su was sooooo overdramatic, I was eating it up.

gifs by @smittenskitten – link

The Duke also had electric chemistry with the leading female.

Their romance was very… mature? I don’t know how else to put this, but the female lead wanted to bone this dude from day one. Listen, she was a married woman. And though her husband had his flaws (murderous flaws), he was obviously giving it to her on the regular cause she looked at the Duke like a woman STARVED. And our girl got progressively and obviously hornier as the episodes piled up.

Subtle she was not.

gifs by @xiaolanhua – link

Ain’t no one gonna believe you’re a teenager who just got out a nunnery, girl, you are waaaaaay too comfortable around the male body. We can all read your mind and it is not PG content, missy.

Though I think we can collective say “SAME, GIRL.”

They were gorgeous and hot for each other. There is a scene where he lets her bite into his hand and I thought I was going to pass out…

gifs by @storge – link

I am not immune to such sexy shenanigans. The Duke is gonna have to let me borrow his fancy fan cause I was perspiring!

Though there are many villainous peeps in this drama, it is the Murderous Husband and the Crazy Princess who are most often behind the wheel driving the plot. I’ve already said I loved the psychotic princess, and I stand by it. But the husband… holy god, ya’ll… he’s… fascinating. Just a conflicted and tormented disaster. He’s honestly even scarier than the princess cause you’re just not sure about him.

Anyways, enough prattling. Go and fire up Netflix or Viki or whatever app you can find this on and settle in. This show is sure to please. It’s hard to imagine anyone not having fun watching this campy romantic mess of a show.

The Double – Overall Rating: 9/10.

Review – Destined – A Divided Viewing Experience

/ Lady Divine / Leave a comment

I was looking forward to writing a review on Destined. I was sure it would be another 10/10 drama for me, another series I would tuck into my top drawer, another show I would gush over and tell all my friends about (just kidding, none of my friends watch Asian dramas which is why I created this blog). And this was very much the case… for about 20 episodes.

And then… it just kept going. And as it kept going, all of the viewing pleasure was drained away by a plot I was not interested in and new characters that felt unnecessary.

You know how there are great shows? Stand alone shows? Or “limited series” as they are calling them now on Netflix. Shows that have an overarching plotline and complete their storylines in one season. Sometimes they try to make more seasons of these shows. Just… drift along on the success of the first season, throw a haphazard plot together, include the characters everyone loved, and hope for the best. The same kind of thing happens when studios don’t let a show die. On season 8 or whatever, you are having a hard time remembering why you used to love this show (The 100, anyone?). Destined gave me a similar viewing experience, in that by the time I finished it I struggled to remember why I loved it so much in the beginning.

It’s a real tragedy, honestly. Though the political factions and wars and whatnot were mentioned in the beginning and were, in fact, the initial catalyst for the leading couple to get married – these aspects were never front and center in the foundational episodes. Instead, we were treated to a very enjoyable romantic comedy.

Destined is about a scrappy Cinderalla-type character who is married off to an irresponsible spoiled Prince-type character. They both can’t stand each other but due to a series of unfortunate events (or destiny), their fates are tied.

For the first ten episodes you will be totally in love with these two. The story line is fresh and satisfying, the obstacles they must overcome were each given the attention they deserve. The actors embody the shyness, the sweetness, the disbelief and wonder of first love. Watching these two young people fall for each other slowly and naturally was heaven.

screenshot from @xbethelight – link

I was enchanted, I tell you! Their cute little smiles and teamwork won me over completely.

The male lead may be one of my all time favorite characters – he was so adorable and fun to watch. Bai Jingting playing Gu Jiusi was casting perfection – he was born to play this role. 100 percent puppy energy.

gifs by @dingyuxi – link

Jiusi is ditzy and rambunctious and loyal and impulsive and no man has ever ADORED his wife more than this guy.

Song Yi played his serious, task-oriented, wife Li Yuru… chef’s kiss. It’s so nice to see a nerdy girl shine like this. Her practicality and ambition (and his family’s money) were the pillars that held up their relationship. I couldn’t help but respect the girl. The actress also managed to make this character still seem young – appropriately so for the character’s age – so even though Yuru was determined and proud there was always some doubt and insecurity in her eyes. My babies! I loved them so much.

They were a ying-yang couple that worked. He made her more playful, she made him more serious. It’s a simple opposites attract storyline and I adored it.

The cinematography is breathtaking and I especially drooled over all the interiors in this show. (That beauty shop, am I right?) There is a harmonious balance of outdoor and indoor shots, a variety of locations, and plenty of movement so you never feel confined in one space. Though I am sure CGI is used, it never felt obvious.

Destined delivered a big cast of memorable servants and socialites and guards and politicians and family members and friends. Liu Xue Yi makes a fabulous villain, by the way… I’d like to see him play more elegant, devious characters in the future.

After the first quarter of the show the politics come in and there are major upheavals and big changes. Even that was okay, as it added serious dramatic tension and tested the bond of our lovers.

There were so many fresh ideas, liberal ideals, role reversals, and genuine growth in this show. Some of the dialogue will make you swoon, but you’ll also be impressed by the casual conversations between characters too. There were lessons to be learned with a focus on family harmony and societal unification. Learning to work together, to be better people, to forgive and move forward. It was positive and empowering and engrossing television.

This show was so good!!!

Until it wasn’t.

I noticed it right at the halfway mark, episode 20. Cause I felt satisfied, like the show should be over… so… wait… how many more episodes are there???

It just never stopped. It just kept going… and going… and going. My god. New characters came in that were cool but also never quite felt developed. I certainly was not at all interested in the lines of succession for the throne or empire or whatever. We got less and less scenes of our couple. My attention waxed and waned and then just went to run errands. I didn’t fast forward any eps, but I honestly wish I had cause… geesh. What a drag. Twenty long episodes of it, too.

I’ve heard that the webnovel is a vast improvement for the second half of this story, and I mean… surely. Isn’t the book usually better? Anyways, I’ll wait until there is an English translation available in print cause I struggle to read books online – but for those interested go find “Chang Feng Du” (长风渡) by Mo Shu Bai (墨书白).

For those of you who haven’t seen this show yet, do yourselves a favor and stop watching once the lead couple consummate their relationship (ep 27-28). I’m serious. Consider that the last episode. Sure, there are some elements of the plot that haven’t been closed out – but you know they’re gonna be tied up eventually, right? Just trust me on this one.

If you turn it off and walk away, you will be a happier person with nothing but warm fuzzies for our couple and an overall good impression of this show. If you keep watching… it’s highly unlikely that your overall satisfaction rating will remain that high. I mean, I have read a few reviews from people who loved the whole thing but there aren’t many…

Destined – Overall Rating: 8/10 (First half: 10/10 – Second Half: uggggggh/10)

The Legend of Shen Li

/ Lady Divine / Leave a comment

The Legend of Shen Li is a Chinese fantasy drama with the soul of an old Hollywood Movie. Like Cassablanca, It Happened One Night, Love Affair, The Philadelphia Story, or His Girl Friday. You know, the ones that despite being in black and white the entire world metaphorically bursts into technicolor when the two leading actors lock eyes.

I loved those old movies. Cool, confident, well-dressed people slinking around each other with playful, covertly flirtatious dialogue. Strong ladies in designer dresses circling around handsome men with deadly charm.

The Legend of Shen Li is about capable, confident adults finding love in the same suave style of Old Hollywood – but transplanted into an epic historical fantasy romance with many worlds and apocalyptic fates in the balance.

Introducing our two protagonists, Shen Li and Xing Zhi (or Xing Yun, depending on your subtitles) – whom you will fall in love with as they fall in love with each other.

gifs by @movielosopy on Tumblr – link

So let’s talk about the set up to this show – cause it’s bizarre and brilliant.

Story Arc 1 – The Mortal Realm

In the beginning a demon warrior woman with a massive spear is escaping an arranged marriage to an heavenly immortal with a bad reputation. Their marriage is a proposed strategic alliance between the Demon Realm and the Immortal Realm but our warrior woman is having none of it. She’d rather die, thank you very much, and fights off an army to run away. In the fray of her escape she falls to the mortal world and transforms back to her spiritual form – a phoenix.

Except no one in the mortal world knows what a phoenix is so they just assume it’s a weird looking chicken. She is, in fact, a most adorable CGI chicken with little hearts in her feathers and as corny as that sounds, you will adore it.

Saving her from becoming someone’s dinner is a kindly ginseng farmer who takes her back to his picturesque home on the river and proceeds to tease her and cook her delicious meals. It’s clear he knows this chicken is more than meets the eye, but how he knows and what else he might know are mysteries that slowly unravel in the first few episodes.

you can click on any image to enlarge

This drama is picturesque in the extreme and you will enjoy a visual feast while this powerful war general deals with being powerless for the first time in her life, learning to let someone else take care of her and protect her from harm. She’s annoyed and frustrated and ranting – but ultimately gives in to her gentle caretaker, who delights in teasing her and pushing her buttons, amused by her outbursts and antics and obviously quite charmed by her stubborn, bullheaded personality.

gifs above from @zhanglinghez on Tumblr – link

Their roles reverse by episode three as she regains her human form and her powers slowly come back; then she is the one protecting him from local bullies and other dangers. She’s also enjoying bullying him a bit herself, but it’s obviously a giant turn on to her tall, handsome mortal guardian who is grinning like a fool every time she throws him around.

The Legend of Shen Li 与凤行 (2024) | Episode 3 – gifs by @ladynamie on Tumblr – link

Listen, this guy can play our lead female like a fiddle. He’s having the time of his life goofing around the house and wasting the days away with this recuperating warrior. He’s sickly and mortal and other than some impressive knowledge of magic, he has little to protect himself in the world… not that he seems to care. The dude is like Buddha. He’s both calm like an old man who has accepted their fate and oblivious like a child who has no concept of danger… nothing seems to worry him, he’s at peace wherever he goes… and its bizarre and Shen Li is captivated by him.

gifs by @movielosopy on Tumblr – link

Cause this super chill farmer manages to make our leading lady feel… well, like a lady. And also kinda like a little girl. Which is a novelty for her, as she is a military leader and not accustomed to men wanting to act as her shield and take long walks around the property and hold her hand and such.

It’s vacation romance all the way.

Our leading lady is relaxing for the first time in her life, just enjoying the beauty of nature and the slow movement of days, the burdens of her position and realm far, far away. No one knows who she is, no one expects anything from her… she can just melt into the tranquility of a mortal life… eat good food… and enjoy witty banter with her handsome farmer guy.

gifs by @movielosophy on Tumblr – link

The Legend of Shen Li 与凤行 (2024) | Episode 4 – stills/gifs by @ladynamie on Tumblr – link

And in this idyllic setting… with gorgeous cinematography and perfect pacing… the stage is set for these two people to fall in love.

The love stories of adults should feel different from a romance of youth. The same uncertainty, excitement, and insecurities are there but how adults respond to these things is different. But the older you get, the higher your walls are and the easier it is to just give up or walk away. Cause you’ve been alone all this time, you know it can’t hurt you, but this… this new thing… this love thing… this could tear you to pieces if you aren’t careful.

And it involves someone else, so the outcome is not all up to you. For someone who is used to being in control, this is often the scariest aspect of relationships. Cause the stronger you are alone, the harder it is to let someone else in.

And the two lovers in this story are, respectively, some of the strongest people in the known worlds.

Shen Li is the war general of the entire Demon Realm, adopted daughter of the Demon King, and a fierce and unstoppable warrior woman who is respected and feared by everyone.

And our man Xing Zhi? Oh, he’s the last remaining ancient god, the most powerful being in all the worlds, above the Immortal Realm, the Demon Realm, and the Mortal Realm, a mysterious entity who only comes out of his seclusion in the Sky Beyond Heaven occasionally when situations require it every thousand years or so. Or when he’s so bored that he wanders down to the Mortal Realm to live as a human hoping to escape the existential horrors of being an ancient immortal.

That is a mild spoiler, and I apologize if you were coming to this review blind – but the truth of both their identities are revealed very early in the show and are printed in every description of the show online so it’s not really much of a spoiler in my opinion.

The first few episodes (1-6) are the foundation of this show and of you aren’t won over during this first story arc then go ahead and drop the show – it’s just not for you. To each their own, but… seriously… you weren’t won over? What manner of creature are you?

Overall Rating: 10+/10 – A Xianxia Romantic Epic with the heart of an Old Hollywood movie.

SPOILERS BELOW – just go ahead and watch it if you haven’t – and if you have… then come along and let’s chat more about it.

Continue reading →

Review – Love Alarm

/ Lady Divine / Leave a comment

A short, simple, and relatively enjoyable show about romance and insecurity. Though most people know, by context clues and awareness of themselves and others, who likes who in this world – for some reason we still manage to muck up relationships. Cause people are kinda dumb and we live in fear of rejection. Because rejection leads to shame – and shame can be just as powerful an emotion as love, so… you know… it’s a toss up. A gamble, so to speak, to pursue the ones we know like us. Wouldn’t it be nice if it we could avoid the whole stressful gamble with a handy app that loudly, publicly declared our interest? I mean, sure, we could swipe right, but that’s private. If someone likes someone online does it really count before there’s evidence of it to share publicly? It is the question of the ages.

Anyways… this is a show about a silly phone app that lets people know who’s attracted to them. And that’s generally pretty cool cause almost everyone in this show is attractive or at the very least fit and standard “Hollywood Extra” quality. In other words – this isn’t going to be a show that dives into how an app like this could revolutionize society by saying out loud things that people keep quiet. I mean, sure, the hot people are going to get tons of hearts and likes or whatever – but the truth is, people are pretty varied and we like a lot of stuff. And we find a lot of things attractive. Different ages, different races, different body types, different genders, and so on and so forth. This could have been a show that got really deep in the weeds of human behavior, societal expectations and control, suppression and desire. But… nope. It’s a show about a silly app.

No one really has a hard time with this app. I mean, not really. Cause, remember, they’re all pretty attractive and young and finding a romantic partner doesn’t seem like anything the majority of the characters would struggle with.

There’s like… one short nerdy guy who’s not extremely attractive but he’s also not unattractive either… I mean… at one point, he changes his hair and is suddenly pretty cool, so, that’s what we’re dealing with. Short nerdy guy’s got a crush on the hot mean girl at school, who clearly and obviously does not like him, but I guess we’re supposed to feel he’s being bullied or something for that… but honestly… why? Isn’t the whole point of the app to match you with people who also like you? Were there no short, slightly less than standardly attractive women who might fancy this nerdy guy? Who knows… cause the scope of this show is very narrow and the writers try very hard to divert your attention from such obvious plotlines queries by not spending much time on these side stories.

There’s a few gay boys who are embarrassed about being outted by the app (but who also turned it on, so you’re not really sure how you’re supposed to feel about it)… and as far as we know there are no gay girls in the school (though perhaps the gay girls were smart enough not to out themselves with an app if they preferred to stay closeted until college).

Anyhoo… the main characters of this show are attractive and well aware of it. This app only confirms what they already know – that people like them for the way they look. The things they struggle with are internal or unseen stuff. You know, like horrific childhood trauma or difficult family situations. So it’s your cookie-cutter storyline of “which hot guy will the beautiful girl choose?”

Listen, this ain’t a serious drama. It’s a romantic drama. And it’s pretty enjoyable, largely carried on the shoulders of the leading female, Kim So-Hyun. I also liked both of the male leads, which was shocking because I watched Nevertheless right before this and found Song Kang dreadful in that show. To my surprise, he was quite charming in this drama with a wide variety of facial expressions and emotions. Who knew? I had to change my mind about this actor so fast it gave me whiplash. The other guy, Jung Ga-Ram, was also great (more on him in a second). So… the trio of main characters were awesome and that’s a win right there. I mean, it’s not a drama I’m gonna run out and tell people to watch – but it’s only six episodes and pretty cute and… yeah. Thumbs up. I guess. Eh. Whatever.

On a random note… I decided to watch this show because I read somewhere that there was an LGBT storyline. Perhaps this expectation caused some wishful thinking – but I swear, I thought Jung Ga-Ram’s character was going to be gay.

I mean… think about it (if you’ve seen it)… the set up was there! His adorable and questionably over-the-top affection for his best friend (I mean, seriously, the first episode had my gaydar alarm going off like crazy). Encounters with not one, but two gay boys at school – both of which ended with Jung Ga-Ram’s character supporting their same-sex attractions with an odd reserve… a reserve that I read as “I too am familiar with this feeling”… and not because of his crush on the main female, but because he too liked cute boys. I figured that was why he hadn’t turned on his love alarm. Because he was in denial of his sexuality. I also figured that was why he hadn’t approached his crush, but kept her on a pedestal out of arms reach… a known occurrence of some teenage boys in their last chapters of coming out to themselves. Spoiler alert – he ain’t gay. Other than the two random gay boys at school who are on screen for a split second, there’s no rainbow to be found.

Apparently this show is getting a “season 2,” which is awful really cause revisiting a love triangle story line – AGAIN – just means these attractive people still haven’t resolved their shit. Even though the ending of the show suggested they had. Learning there is a season 2 ruins the happy ending of the first season. If that wasn’t the end – then they shouldn’t have made the show 12 eps instead of 6 – though can you imagine? The last few episodes were already starting to drag… I would have DNF’d this show had I seen there were still lots of episodes remaining.

I wish I could assume that Season 2 would show that relationships change – that the people you may have connected with in high school don’t always align to your future. Or dive deeper into the reality that human beings are attracted to multiple people at the same time and that love may be possible with any of them, or even with someone you’re not attracted to at all. Do I imagine the scope of the show will broaden and develop into a more nuanced story? Uh, no. I have zero hope for that. This is a teen romance – and you’re going to find your soul mate in high school, damn it, and that is the ONE and ONLY forever and ever amen, ya dig? It’s just gonna be love-triangle Part 2. And… do you really care which hot guy the hot girl ends up with? I mean, they’re both pretty decent dudes so I didn’t care. Sure, one relationship was developed more than the other – and this caused viewership bias. But do we really care?

I’ll be skipping the sequel.

Overall Rating – 6/10 – Silly Dating Apps and a Standard Love Triangle.

Review – Extra-Ordinary You

/ Lady Divine / Leave a comment

Extra-Ordinary You was one of the best teenage romantic comedies I have seen in years – for about 20 episodes. The last twelve episodes of this show slid quickly into “good but nothing special” territory for me, feeling repetitive, unnecessary, and considerably less exciting. This is not to say I didn’t still enjoy it, even after the sudden and steady decline of my attention span. Cause I did. Honestly. And when nearly 3/4ths of your drama is amazing, then you really can’t complain too much as you’re already doing better than most shows.

Even the long haul eps at the end, where the first had gone out, where still entertaining enough that I continued watching. Frankly, I felt I had to. The mystery of the show was compelling enough that I could not let it go without the answers I was promised.

The story is thus: A quirky, popular young lady has suddenly started losing track of time. Hours pass and she has no memory of what happened in between. Then, mysteriously, she begins to notice strange patterns – amongst her friends and her routine. Things repeat themselves. Her world seems in flux. What’s going on? Our heroine discovers she is a character in a graphic novel – and now that she’s become self aware, she is able to experience life “between the panels” when the story is not directing her (and everyone else’s) action.

It’s a really fun concept. A similar story line was W, the 2016 hit series that was also really great for quite a long time before kinda dragging on a bit too long for it’s own good. If I had to choose between the two, I would pick W because it was a more expansive story, but Extra-Ordinary You finds is place in the pantheon of cute romance dramas with just enough conflict, love-triangles, bullies, and generalized school intrigue to keep you entertained.

Though the entire series takes place inside a graphic novel – it’s surprisingly “fantasy light.” The drama doesn’t spend much time musing on the particular physics or mysticism involved in this world, nor does it bother to explain how its possible or what controls it. Why are these imaginary characters able to become conscious? What does that mean about the creator of the characters or the world itself? Is this a reincarnation metaphor or meant to provoke us to think about the uncanny nature of religious beliefs, mortality, the broader expanse of the universe, or the vast unknowns of life? Uh, no. This is definitely not a philosophical show. There is no social commentary. It’s pretty much surface level only, and the surface level is very brightly colored. I think if you scratched at the layer, you’d just smell bubblegum. The “but how though?” question remains unanswered, and I suppose it really didn’t matter in the end as it never bothered me much. It’s a cheesy teen romance. It may have been more… maybe… once… there do seem to be hints at more… but nope. It’s just a collection of tropes and cuteness that’s dressed up in a new style.

I’d considered writing a more lengthy review – about the characters and the concept – but could not motivate myself to do so. The teenagers are all lovely and immaculate in their perfect white uniforms. The school is some insane stylized mansion-esque place, always spotless and expansive. The light is pure. The rain is romantic. Hospital rooms are enormous and comfortable. The streets are generic. The angles of the camera mimic typic manga style – with lots of straight on shots, a few up and down views inbetween, and plenty of focus on the dreamy faces of the leads. It’s a graphic novel, after all, a modern fairytale, so everything worked or was easily excused.

The less you know going in, the more you will enjoy it.

It was a perfect escape and exactly what I’d been craving but didn’t realize it. Something comfortable but just different enough that I didn’t immediately recognize it.

Overall Rating 8/10. A Happy Escape into a Romantic Dreamworld of Teenagers.

I’LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by Jandy Nelson

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“I’ll Give You The Sun” is a story about fraternal twins, both resoundingly artistic with jealousies and rages that compete with mythological gods. This story is told in alternating voice, between the siblings, and in alternating times… before and after. Before what and after what are the mystery of the novel – and there are several befores and several afters hidden in the pages. In the end, it’s a heartbreakingly beautiful story about family, unconditional love and conditional love, first loves and deep seeded regrets. The plot in itself is outstanding – a very richly layered story with fully realized characters, both young and old. I feel in love with everyone in this story, and saw a little bit of myself reflected in each of them.

But the story is not what makes this book great – it would have been pretty good if anyone wrote this plot, probably – but what makes this book shine is revealed in the cover: huge implications in small words, “I’ll give you the sun” indeed – the title surrounded by a radial explosion of colors. That’s what this book is – words crafted so unusually, so cleverly, so astoundingly that they paint in your head. It’s overwhelming at first, all that language, all those images, but it tames down a bit after a while. Or maybe I just grew accustomed to it after a while, I’m not sure. I’ll have to re-read it for closer inspection. And I’m sure I will re-read it.

Though I loved all the love stories in this book (there is more than one), the one that hit me hardest was Noah’s. Torment, fascination, recognition… and always that burning question “Are they?” I cried on and off repeatedly while reading it – sometimes with joy, too. The only problem I had with the book was the character of Zephyr… and the bag of mixed messages there, but it’s only a side plot so I’ll happily put it aside for now and just bask in the contentment of finishing an excellent book. Anyways, it was a remarkable novel and I highly recommend it.

RATING: FIVE STARS

Title: I’ll Give You The Sun
Author: Jandy Nelson
Originally published: September 16, 2014
Genre: Young adult fiction

SERPENT & DOVE by Shelby Mahurin

/ Lady Divine / 2 Comments

“There are some things that can’t be changed with words. Some things have to be seen. They have to be felt.”

Decided to read a fun fantasy romance novel today – about a renegade witch who finds herself married to a witch hunter. The novel is told from alternating points of view – between our mismatched lovers – and overall it was a highly enjoyable tale of medieval lore, mystery, and (most of all) love.

I am a sucker for a wild girl paired with a prudish guy, what can I say? And I especially enjoy cohabitation stories where the couple is either married but not “together” or pretending to be married but not “together.” All that “oh my, wherever shall I sleep? On the floor? The couch? Should we share a bed and put pillows between us? Decisions, decisions…” it never gets old to me. There was a surprisingly detailed sex scene too (I believe the expression ‘to the hilt’ was used, as cringe worthy as ever).

Serpent & Dove has a nice dusting of French throughout, adding a little foreign flavor to our fantasy world.  There’s loads of fun characters coming in and out of the scenes, from apprentices to courtesans, witches to royals, and bakers to scorned aristocracy. And we’re also given a nice dose of feminism as well as plea for deeper understanding between all people we’ve labeled as “other” for various reasons. It was nicely done. For a debut novel, it was rich in detail and showed clear evidence of expert writing and editing, keeping the flow steady and enjoyable throughout.

I really liked it.

My only complaint was the tale was set in this historical world with corsets and daggers and metal bath tubs… but it kept throwing in modern language stylings, with our female witch in particular. I don’t mind cursing or vulgarity, those are not particular to any time period, but the turn of phrases, the expressions, the slang… it was 21st Century. And it always, always threw me out of the story setting. If she was going to write this way, the author should have just made our witch a time traveler. Everyone else is all proper and our witch is slinging punchy jokes and contemporary witticisms.

I don’t know if it will bother others as much as it bothered me… and honestly, that’s my only complaint for an otherwise enjoyable rompish fantasy-romance. Oh, and it’s set up for a sequel… with a nice twist or two at the end to leave us wanting more. There were several sets of magical creatures referred to that I would love to see explored in more detail in future books.

I’ll definitely be buying the next installment.

Rating: Four Stars

Originally published: September 3, 2019
Author: Shelby Mahurin
Title: Serpent & Dove
Genre: Fantasy Fiction