Ditto to the title

A heart-warming series that revolve around four young police officers with varying personalities being trained by the old-school. The slice of life genre is usually never my initial go-to but I do appreciate ones like this. An overall great cast of actors and a nicely paced character development of the four fledglings. Though idealistic, it offers a nice insight to the every day work of officers in smaller towns and how it impacts their humanity and home life.

The setting is based around a smaller town but they still encounter some heavier crimes which levels up the plot a bit. The realistic "Karens" they encounter will have you appreciating what officers need to deal with. My favorite character in the series is the police chief or the "king of face-changing" lol. He is the type of leader every organization out there needs.

Despite this being 38 episodes, it was an easy and fun watch without too much lag time surprisingly. The only minor areas of criticism on my end is the dramatization of the people in the town exploding into applause unrealistically and how the pacing toward the latter half felt just slightly prolonged with certain scenes which caused the ending to feel rushed. Nevertheless, they could have made another 38 episodes and I would have gladly continued to watch.

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Alas, the binge

*Minor spoilers*

Being a big fan of The Story of Ming Lan, this series definitely gave off a similar vibe when it comes to the complexity of a multiple-wives household and being blanketed by a strong romance. And as I always tend to mention, not a big fan of the romance genre but this was another one that I couldn't help but to fall for.

While the romance here was just as fun and idealistic as TSML, I love that they wrote in a "realistic" rift that occurred between the couple in this one- one that had me in steady tears for quite a few scenes and episodes. The FL/ML had great chemistry and both were strong characters, though not as savvy and cunning as the two in TSML. The schemes between the women were pretty standard form but were still more interesting than the ones you come across in some palace dramas. The series also does a good job tastefully highlighting the perspectives of each woman, reminding us how difficult it was for women to live through an era where the only available weapon of survival really was through the art of manipulation, forcing women to have to work against one another.

The series has minimal actions scenes and mainly focuses on the couple's romantic evolution and the dealings within the different households. There is an underlying political conspiracy to work through which helped keep the overall plot together. And although the plot itself wasn't the strongest with some holes and some repetitiveness, it was still one that had me binging episodes in an unhealthy way.

If you are a fan of TSML, I'm pretty sure you'd find this one enjoyable. And in an era where monogamy is morally preferred, who knew I'd be rooting for a ML who already had a wife and multiple concubines in-place prior to meeting the FL?

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Average

Foremost, I love the concept of the plot particularly because of women who were deemed to die just because of their husbands (due to dumb traditions) banning together into a formidable group. The ML dressing as a female to infiltrate them was also quite fun. But a few negatives brought the score down for me:

- While the romance between the FL/ML was sweet, there was just too much focus on it at the most inappropriate times. When there's a serious situation occurring that involves life and death or when a loved one is in a dire situation, it's hard to stomach a relatively quick scene switch to the two of them lightheartedly flirting or the amount of times the FL needs saving.
- The plot started becoming increasingly muddled toward the middle of the series and the plot holes are real. And various situations (as with many other series) were "conveniently" coincidental which takes away from the realism.
- A light nit is the amount of time that has passed through the course of the series but apparently, the FL's hair that was cut off early on never seemed to grow.

However, most of the actors were fantastic so it helped with balancing out some of the flaws. And despite some plot flow issues, they were still able to tug at the audience's heart strings. The twist at the end was great but the final scene felt like a forced joyful ending.

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Very Fun

It's hard to believe how a historical drama with the incorporation of outlandish aliens would be this entertaining to watch (this isn't Gintama after all). But after many starts and drops of other higher rated historical dramas, I'm really glad I gave this one a try.

This series is a unique mix of corny comedy with an underlying serious plot. Don't get discouraged by the initial alien scenes or whether any of it is actually "logical" as this is one to watch when you need a refreshing break from other historical dramas with very serious undertones. It also has a fantastic cast all around who each have lots of character and individual charm. There are scenes that has made me literally laugh out loud and one in particular that jerked out some tears.

I normally can't stand the "cutesy" FLs but Ah Bu Cha Cha is absolutely adorable and has great chemistry with the ML. My only minor qualm with them is that the constant rescuing of one another starts feeling slightly repetitive in the latter episodes.

While this isn't masterpiece level with the most intricate plot, it is definitely quite memorable. The pacing is also well done (with some slightly drawn-out scenes) and due to its unique genre blend, it's actually not very predictable and maintains a layer of intrigue. Highly recommend for those who just wants to kick back without heavy analysis, laugh a little, and just enjoy the wave of good drama wrapped with silliness.

Note: Made the attempt to watch Season 2 but dropped it a couple of episodes in. It wasn't worth ruining the experience of the first season.

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Could have been great...

Foremost, having only seen Kim Nam Gil in The Fiery Priest, I love how he shows his versatility here and hoping he actually does more of the historical genre. It is his scenes in the historical setting that were the most interesting in this particular case.

Still not the greatest fan of time travel themes but this one was hilarious in the beginning. The plot had so many good things going for it along with a great cast but there was too much drag with the modern era politics (fast-forwarded most of it). They tried to portray how despite the dichotomy in era, the medical field still undergoes similar political and class issues. But they really tried to do too much in the series with the complex base of constant time travel. The series felt like it didn't know what genre it wanted to be and just mashed together a little bit of everything including the excess "cuteness" of the ML/FL romance. There's modern day politics which flips back and forth to the historical politics, prolonged scenes with patients that really didn't add much to the drama, predictable trigger events, and then add in a war with some random foreigners thrown in. If there was more focus on the main basis of the plot, it could have really been a great series. It also didn't help that they forced in a happy ending that really made no sense.

Overall, it's one of those series that's difficult to hate on but of the cast and the potential but unfortunately it's also one that's forgettable with no re-watch value.

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Good cast, unfortunate plot development

Foremost, the series started off really well with a good cast and great characters. I was very much looking forward to how it plot evolved and unfolded. However, it started to falter hard in the middle of the series for multiple reasons.

- When a dramatic incident occurred, before you can take a breather, another immediately begins. It may not have been as difficult to digest if the all the incidents and resolutions also didn't feel horribly repetitive.
- The character introductions were great in the beginning but there was almost no character development in latter episodes. It would have helped if more time was spent on their backgrounds and history.
- The main ML prince/king is likeable but also unrealistically idealistic. His character was far more interesting outside of the palace and it slowly devolved into a one-note. Other than being born into half-royalty and recruiting others to help his righteous fight, he didn't really have any particular skills that would lead you to believe he was a step above others. He mostly did what he wanted and let those around him save him.
- The romance between the ML and FL was awkward and really unnecessary. She was also initially an interesting character who just faded into the background.

Around episode 13 (or 26), was when I started fast-forwarding hard which is why I technically did not properly complete the series. It's quite unfortunate as the cast was great and there was a really good base for the plot.

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Pleasantly Entertaining

The series starts off with quite a dramatic entrance that throws you off initially (definitely memorable) but fortunately, the series moves along quickly into a more historical setting. It evolves into a hint of The Story of Ming Lan due to the different classes involved within families, the emphasis on what women had to endure in those days, a multitude of scheme within schemes, and a sweet romance between the ML an FL. It's a few tiers below but still very much worth watching if you are a fan of Ming Lan as I am.

What makes the series great is the well-paced underlying revenge plot, a great cast, a fantastic sprinkle of humor, and a romance that doesn't trigger my eyes rolling. The FL plays her role well but the star of the show is definitely the ML and his boys as they are the ones I'm consistently looking forward to showing up in the next scene.

As some reviewers have mentioned, the FL is a bit older for her role particularly because of how young the woman she was "replacing" was. But no complaints on my end as I appreciate the older woman/younger man flip from the typical older man/younger female concept. My biggest criticism with the female FL is that her intellectual capabilities started off strong and her character gradually became more of a sidekick once she began trusting the ML to just take care of things.

The other criticism would be in the latter part of the series. It almost felt like there were either two writers or directors between the first half and the second half. The plot started getting a bit mushier and rushed and the sprinkling of humor trailed off. And while the FL did honor her promises to the women she came across, there was a tinge of her just using them as stepping stones for her own selfish desires. I also wish they resumed focus back to some key supporting characters such as the Yue family, but that may mean the series pushes far past 40 episodes. The ending was fine as well but it also felt a bit out of place.

Nevertheless, kudos to an overall entertaining series. And FYI, while the younger generation may not know her, Leanne Liu has been such a fantastic and memorable actress in so many older series. It's great to see her on screen again.

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Based on a true figure in history

Series made like this is what made me really fall in love with Chinese dramas. Having seen this in 2024, I'm reminded yet again about how crude it makes many of the newer shows appear with focuses only "good-looking" actors, not-so-great CG work, cheap-looking and non-era related costumes, and mediocre plots. For the generations that are accustomed to the newer style of c-drama, it may take some effort for them to transition to these types of older ones.

However, if you are a plot-focused viewer who loves detective series, this is highly recommended. While it isn't perfect with some slight drags for a and would have done well with more character development scenes or character histories, the pacing of each case is still completely enjoyable. The actors are all as high quality as most older series are and both the story and subtle romantic relationships offers much realism. The only slight dramatization being that many cases being based on high-ranking officials and the idealistic portrayal of our protagonist, Song Ci (as with many other dramas). But it is refreshing that they depicted how his idealism was also his flaw. It was equally refreshing how female inequality in the field was highlighted through one of Song Ci's assistants.

Highly recommended and I'm hoping to seek out more of these types of series. These series are underrated because of its age and number of viewers, and unfortunately doesn't show up on the list of recommendations often.

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Memorable but...

This is a review based on a second attempt to re-watch the series as I recall having watched this many years ago. It is a memorable series because as the characters come to screen, they were all still very recognizable despite how long it has been. This is not something that can be said about many other ones I've seen.

Positives:
- The plot itself is relative interesting with good twists.
- There are some very likeable and fun characters where the supporting actors/actresses play their roles well.
- The comradery was rushed but still good with a nice layer of humorous interactions.
- There were pockets of good action scenes.

Negatives:
- The two main roles, Chen Chang Sheng and Xu You Rong, were just really dull. No chemistry with their romance which the series played on heavily and both barely had a different expression throughout the entire 52 episodes. The supporting roles really were the ones who carried them.
- Chen Chang Sheng is supposed to be this righteous victim of circumstances but there are areas where he just comes off as a hypocritical narcissist.
- While the overall plot itself was good, too many scenes felt very repetitive and much too drawn out. Skip large sections at a time and you wouldn't be missing much. To top it off, the scenes where they should have spent more time to bring more depth to the characters, were brushed over too quickly.
- The fantasy visuals and hand gestures were amateur and sometimes cringe but not over my personal threshold of lenience.

I feel slightly conflicted with the scoring because there were some very positive areas that keeps you interested as you anticipate what's to come next. But the flow was done poorly midway through and the main protagonists themselves were either given poor direction/dialogue or needs improvement with their acting abilities. It's a shame because the story itself had good potential.

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Better Than Expected

I initially expected to see an overbearing and annoying mother who hovered heavily over her spoiled children and was pleasantly surprised that this wasn't the case. While the overall palace politics wasn't very unique, the dynamics between the royal family was heart-warming and fun. The switch between the Queen hilariously running around hectically trying to manage her duties and turning somber and hardened when necessary was done really well. Her sons also had great chemistry with one another with the major focus on the crown princes.

What does really make this series unique is how they tried to implement different facets of issues with women's rights, which is normally not highlighted particularly in historical drama. And while the Queen is typically a powerful figure, she wasn't portrayed as consistently having to bow to her King or being overly manipulative in order to get what she wants. While manipulation is still naturally rampant, the main relationships are relatively straight-forward with one another and it's also quite refreshing. The best part is nothing was too overly dramatized as with many historical dramas- no drawn out sappy romance scenes and no repetitive and incessant political conversations.

There were a few tearjerker moments but the general overall feel you get from completing the series is cozy. My only two nits is that because the dialogue is spoken pretty slowly at times, I did apply mini-skips to move it along just a tad. And some areas were also a bit overly idealistic but nothing that takes away. Overall, this was one I couldn't help but to binge on with many hours of sacrificed sleep.

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Left Feeling Unsure

There are multiple factors that I really appreciate about the series and other factors that watered it down. Foremost, most of the actors did a good job in their roles, particularly our two main protagonists. It would have stepped up a notch if they provided more depth to the character's backstories. Although there were hints and minor flashbacks, it wasn't enough to really draw you in to any of them in particular.

Although the pacing was initially slower than what I'm accustomed to for this type of genre, it did create that essence of realism. The series did a good job transitioning Han Dan Soo's character from a struggling lawyer who kept getting screwed over by trying to do the "right" thing to finally getting fed up and deciding to utilize his skills to fight corruption by becoming corrupted. After all, those who have a conscious and have experienced something similar in life, would be able to generally relate to these multiple decision-making crossroads. It also secondarily depicts the realism of how people feel when they are being used, or when they are the ones putting in the "hard work" only to help others reap the large rewards. So there are multiple scenes where it has you questioning yourself on what you would do in their shoes.

However in the last three or so episodes, the pacing paradoxically became both too dragged while the plot felt overly rushed. It's hard to explain except that I started to lose interest in the heavy-handed shifting of the backstabbing between the various parties. So while the ending wasn't bad, it also felt rushed because of how slow the build-up was to it. If the positive factors weren't there for the overall wrap-up of the series, I would have given it a lower score. It's otherwise still an enjoyable watch but not one worth re-watching again.

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Very different score to season one

Although they did a true continuation from the ending of season one, they probably should have kept it as is... based on this season two. The reasons why I loved season one, took a few steps back in this follow up. Unlike the pacing of a real feel previously, they've upped the dramatics and tried to do too much in a small number of episodes. Because they tried to do too much, there were multiple holes in the plot which became confusing.

However, it's not terrible by any means. Just that season two took the entirety into the average zone. There is potential for them to bring it back up to par if they manage to fill in the gaps on all the unanswered questions and provide the rationales for certain actions into a season three. For the time being, the slightly higher scoring on this is to give a nod to season one as I've already become invested in the characters from it (and because of this, season two still triggered a few tears).

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Draggy and a bit corny but...

The series started off at a good pace, where I found myself binging the first 10 or so episodes until the romance scenes began to drag on and then all of the scenes slowly disintegrated into long drags. The remaining episodes were completed through a heavy-hand of time skipping. But there is something to be said for the effort of even making it through to the last episode rather than just dropping it completely and it'll be easier to just highlight the negatives into a list:

- While the acting was average, there was enough chemistry with the ML and FL that the trials and tribulations of their romance will tug at your heart.
- The action scenes/CG effects started off okay and slowly deteriorated (even on the sound effects). And the number of times people will bleed from their mouths in the series has got to be record-breaking.
- They increasingly incorporated way too many flashback moments that only contributed to the drag.
- The plot also increasingly deteriorated with each time skip era.
- The characters started off well and then would bounce around between being out of character and then back into character for no naturally good reason.

However, despite all of the above, there was enough suspense of wanting to know how things end. Unfortunately, the ending was lackluster. The concept of the plot is really interesting and it's a shame they didn't do a better job with the series. It started off with so much potential. If they didn't spend so much time on the drags and focused on diving into the supporting characters and their character evolution, or if they put a little more effort into the details of the events unfolding instead of just jumping into it, or if the cut down on the repetitive romance scenes, it would have produced a far more well-rounded effect.

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Not For Everyone

This isn't a series for those looking for a thriller or fictional suspense story. It's a series that is a laying out of reality with no twists and turns meant to entertain the audience. It follows the simple format of a broken legal system and a judge who does her best to both implement the law while getting to the bottom of the truth with each case. It personally resonates for me and may not for everyone.

For some reviewers who question the "dramatization" of the cases, I can only assume they've grown up in relatively safe and comfortable homes with others to rely on (who they usually take for granted). Because those who get it, get it. And those who don't, usually never will. After all, being spoiled has nothing to do with finances but rather those in their lives who've emotionally spoiled them. The actuality is that these cases are still pretty watered down in comparison to real life situations, but still vivid enough to make its point.

What I additionally appreciate about the series is the emphasis on how even those with the best of intentions, end up being hypocrites when it comes to something hitting their own "home". And while those sitting comfortable behind their computers with little or no responsibilities will shout their criticisms, it's a very real and human dilemma that occurs in everyone's day-to-days. It's easier to judge others' choices when it makes no impact to their own personal lives, and easier to self-justify when it comes to their crossroads of sacrifices.

There's no glaring negative other than the pacing of stories and its developments (certain scenes that weren't as believable when it came to how the judge found evidence). There were also some moments that felt a little too prolonged and other moments that felt too abbreviated. But overall, if what I've discussed above also resonates with you and you're fine with a somber environment, you'll enjoy this series.

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Well Done

Started this series with the expectations of dropping it in the first couple of episodes due to expecting a Wuxia theme, only to realize the setting is actually within the modernized world. But before I knew it, each episode had me hooked to looking forward to the next. Here are some key points that makes this series unique for me:

- The blending of a historical essence with modern times was actually done really well and is far more believable than what other series with similar settings try to achieve.
- The action, costuming, and CG work (though I'm not an expert of any sort) was fantastic actually. This aspect is usually one of the main reasons why I drop series. Typically dislike things like "colored hair" that's utilized in historical settings (because it makes no damn sense) but because this is within the modern world, it works.
- Although not all of the acting was done well, there was enough great actors/actresses to make up for it on a whole.
- The humor-injected drama can throw you off every so often but it was also equally refreshing (with just a few scenes that were a bit excessive). The layer of humor is key as well to overlooking any potential loophole with the superhuman powers involved.

What brings the score down for me would mostly be around the plot. Although the story wasn't bad, it felt rushed within the latter half of the series. They did a great job in the beginning with character introductions and did a pretty good job in delving into their personalities but it wasn't very complete. In order for them to finally get to the ending of this first "arc", they left too many holes around the details behind the whole mystery and the characters involved. There were also some sections where I did find myself fast-forwarding a tad because it felt just slightly long-winded and unnecessary. However, I'm very pleasantly surprised at how well they did overall and it was a very enjoyable watch.

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