Poetry on screen

Knowing The On1y One was directed by Patrick Liu, a man behind one of my favourite Taiwanese productions “Your Name Engraved Herein” I had high expectations. Despite it being described as yet another story about step-siblings falling in love – a trope that at this point I am already quite fed up with, to be honest.

First few minutes of the show featuring Sheng Wang’s off-screen narration about coming back to his home-town after living abroad, coupled with bird eye's view shots of Guandu Bridge and first glimpse into Liu Dong Qing’s expressive facial acting, I already had an inkling my expectations would be met. However, even then I had no idea just how much I’d fall in love with this drama.

The On1y One is a beautiful, nuanced slice-of-lice, coming of age tale, telling a story of two teenagers, Jang Tian and Sheng Wang who both carry a heavy emotional baggage, being scarred in their life by a loss of a loved one, loneliness and abandonment. You could say it’s a story of two lonely souls, who found a new warm home within each other. The progression of their relationship is portrayed in a very natural manner.

I’m someone who tends to ruin romance stories for myself by asking questions like “Why is this character even in love with another protagonist?”. Here, I never even once had to question or wonder why two main protagonists would get close to each other and feel drawn to one another.

The drama takes time to show how slowly, step by step, Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian are breaking down each other’s walls and opening up to the other person. It’s all done with the use of beautiful imagery, excellent acting from Liu Dong Qin and Benjamin Tsang (both gave exceptional performances!) and lyrical writing that makes use of metaphors and symbolism. If anyone says “there is nothing happening in this drama”, I’d be calling them out on probably not watching it carefully enough.

The story is set in a high-school environment, most precisely in an accelerated class of exceptional students. Studying, preparing for exams, cracking test papers and testing methods are all part of the drama, adding to the realistic, nostalgia-imbued, melancholic vibe of the show. References to works of literature or science phenomena are also often used as tools for creating metaphors and drawing parallelisms between what’s learnt at school and what’s experienced in real life.

Main protagonists are joined by a set of vibrant, likeable side characters, who also contribute to a more realistic and immersive experience.

I’ve watched quite a few of BL dramas in my life, The On1y One took number one spot in my personal ranking of those (and a place among my all-time-favourite Asian dramas in general) when I was just halfway-through it. It’s still occupying that spot a month after I watched the last episode.

It does has its flaws. Some side plots were clearly not as carefully crafted as the main story and pacing was sometimes off, with too much screen time devoted to side characters’ stories towards the ending of the show (with very little of those stories explored in the first half of it). Because of that, I was sometimes getting impatient while anxiously waiting for the resolution of what was happening between two main leads, being aware of the upcoming ending.

Still, those flaws were not able to ruin my overall experience, hence my final rating is 9.5.

I am looking forward to and hoping for the second season and more development to the beautiful relationship Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian built so far. However, if that second season were to never happen, I'd still absolutely adore this series.

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Chasing the thrill, hoping for love, self-sabotaging

Two episodes in I wasn’t sure if I could share everyone’s excitement about this series. I’ve seen people talking about it as this great breakthrough, a masterpiece, a game changer, and while I acknowledged how having a mainstream actor play a gay character and having actual national funding for a BL show was changing the landscape for kdramas. However, from a perspective of just a regular viewer, who ultimately expects to experience a good piece of televised fiction, I wasn’t really convinced.

Sure, the drama was well-produced, the acting was solid, I couldn’t really complain much about the story progression, as it felt pretty unforced. And yet, I couldn’t really resonate emotionally with the characters. Being it Go Young or his female friend Choi Mi Ae. I attributed it to the style of the story and the manner it was told. Time jumps, skipping important moments when people develop connections, not witnessing how they get closer or grow apart – it all made it difficult for me to develop an emotional connection with the characters as well.

It all changed around episode 3 or 4, e.i. during No Yeong Su and Go Young’s dating era. Their final encounter, during which Go Young ends up punching his (then already an ex) boyfriend was the turning point for me, the moment when I actually felt something (before I did tear up a bit when Go Young and Mi Ae reconnected, but this scene in the restaurant hit me waaay stronger). The look on Yeong Su’s face expressing both self-disdain and resignation really got me. Since then, I’d become more and more invested within every episode, getting used to the report-like narration and time jumps that stopped hindering my ability to immerse myself within a story and became just another tool to highlight its realism. From that moment onward, I did feel like I was given glimpses into different stages of Go Young’s life.

I loved the development of Go Young’s relationship with his mom and her gradual, quiet acceptance of his sexual orientation towards the end of her life. I started understanding Go Young more, noticing how he craves for love, but self-sabotages himself at the same time. That was a big theme for me in this drama, that’s how I saw it. Go Young is chasing love, but at the same time is not allowing it to happen. Affected by having to live with “Kyle”, being cheated on by a boyfriend who gave it to him, and a traumatising childhood experience of his father leading a double life all rendered him wanting love, but not really believing he deserves it.

Nam Gyu is too boring and clingy, so Go Young discards him in a pretty brutal, emotionless way. Then he gets himself entangled in a toxic relation with Yeong Su – a guy who pretty quickly starts to look like a red flag. Go Young clings to him almost in a similar manner like Nam Gyu clung to him before. Why? Partially probably because he was clearly very physically attracted to the guy and Yeong Su had a way to make a person feel like crap, just to throw them a bone from time to time, in order to keep them invested. But my take on it is that, because Yeong Su was never truly attainable, Go Young would end up trying harder. If Yeong Su actually got invested in their relationship 100% and dealt with his internalized homophobia, I’d wager Go Young would probably want out.

Finally, he meets Gyu Ho – probably the strongest candidate for a life-long partner. And yet he lets him go, despite two of them somehow managing to stay together, dealing with the challenges of every day life, its mundane aspects and gradual boredom that sets in their relationship. The relationship with Gyu Ho, while exposing Go Young’s somewhat immature idea of what love should be (a constant source of excitement), was still – in the end – the most mature one. Go Young and Gyu Ho try to resolve their issues, they attempt the rekindle the spark by going to Bangkok, and both work hard on studying Chinese in hope of moving to Shanghai together. And yet, in the end, Go Young sends Gyu Ho off alone, with a “blessing” to date other people. Once again sabotaging his chance for true love.

He doesn’t realize his mistake only until much later. But if they had a chance to have another go at their relationship, I’m not sure if he'd approach it differently. What happens after Gyo Ho’s departure, the ending to a "Habibi arch", the symbolic moving to a new place (as opposed to living in Mi Ae’s old apartment – which was highlighted in Go Young’s dream in one of the earlier episodes as mirroring him being stuck in life, with no clear direction) gives some hope, I suppose?

What originally started as a story of Seoul party goers who don’t always make the most responsible life decisions, eventually turned into quite a deep portrayal of a scarred individual, who tries to navigate his life amidst all the challenges it throws at him. I ended up really enjoying the experience and can understand why this show got so much hype.

There is so much more to say about this drama and more layers to uncover, whether it's Mi Ae's 180 turn in her life attitude not long after getting an abortion, Yeong Su's extreme way of dealing with his sexuality, or Go Young's self-destructive behaviour after receiving gifts from his father. It definitely is one of these shows that leave an audience with a lot of "food for brain". To me, personally, next to The On1y One, it's the best BL drama I've watched (I'm aware not everyone considers it a BL) and also one of the best kdramas.

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Refreshing and authentic

Loved it! Easily the best contemporary cdrama I've watched. Good writing and acting, with a captivating story. Don't approach this show expecting a fluffy, rose coloured romance. But don't think it's yet another soap drama filled with betrayal, cheating, and scams (though there will be those in here, too).

In Between is a story of finding yourself in life and tackling the challenges it throws at you (while dealing with mistakes you make yourself). Characters are all flawed, but thanks to their multilayered nature, we can sympathize with them, even if we disagree with their choices. Ultimately, even the "villains" have depth to them, and I was actually able to feel bad for some.

Surprisingly, there is also a lot of warmth to be found in this story and an overall hopeful message resonating within its ending.

Contrary to a lot of other cdramas, this one has a certain authentic feel to it. Food stalls in crowded, not necessarily squeaky clean streets, apartment blocks outside of glamorous rich areas of big cities, and actors refreshingly without filters put on them to mask their skin texture boost that level of authenticity.

A theatre play incorporated into every episode offers a refreshing way to comment on topics touched upon in the story, while Accusefive songs playing in the background serve as a nice cherry on top, adding to the modern vibe of this show.

I started watching this drama largely due to Edward Chen being in it. I ended up loving it, despite the guy appearing in just a handful of episodes.

(Crossposted with Viki)

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Sensual, moving, gripping

Some movies in their attempt to be artistic become confusing, weirdly-paced and an overall chore to go through. Then there are productions that serve its entertainment purpose, but feel like fast-food for your brain. And just as fast-food, while you enjoy them, you don't really feel nourished in the end.

The Handmaiden succeeds at blending the artistic with the popular incredibly skillfully. This movie is visually stunning, sensual and hypnotising while - at the same time - provides some of the best plot twists one could wish for.

Technically, it's pretty much flawless, with great camera work, amazing shots and editing. But in its craftsmanship it still remains full of soul and emotion, being one of my all time favourite love stories.

I respect Park Chan Wook as a director a lot. The man made some of the best movies in the history of Korean cinema. This - to me - is his best work.

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Cultural shock

I don't throw around the word "masterpiece" a lot, but if there's one, it's this drama. Back in the day I remember I was watching, and enjoying, a certain American show about politics. Then I came about watching Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan and I could never look at that other show the same. The intrigues and politics within the imperial harem made the other work feel like it was targeted at school kids.

Now, I don't mean to trash that other show. it was objectively good in its own right. But the reaction I had to Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan was akin to a cultural shock. The script, the dialogues, the thoughts of characters, their motivations and actions were so intelligent in my eyes, I couldn't get over the fact that at the end of the day, it was just a piece of entertainment.

The show has an impressive number of 76 episodes, but there's not a dull moment. The epic story spanning over the years had me gripped, worried, angry, scared, cheering for love and in constant awe. The pacing is phenomenal, the acting really good, the writing is perfection.

I love that the show is not simply set in historical setting, but characters are acting according to times and their position within the society. Some historical dramas feel like they're simply using historical aesthetics for telling modern stories. Not in here. The main character is an extremely intelligent, well-educated woman, but she knows what is the appropriate behaviour expected of her.

Which leads me to my other point. This is a show about women, featuring a lot of great female characters. Some of whom are incredibly strong and formidable. But the way it's done is not through girl bossification, cardboard stick figure character portrayal, who's just as smart as dumb are her opponents. This is a story of truly wise women, who use their power smartly. And as this drama shows, not always is the loudest person the most formidable enemy and the most dangerous ones are the ones you don't see coming. Consort Hua and what happens to her being the case in point (I love her character to the bits, by the way).

This drama is a 10/10. Absolutely fantastic.

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So entertaining! With laughs and cries along the road

Loved it!

It wasn't flawless, some plot lines felt as if they were completely abandoned halfway through (sometimes it felt ok, as they only served to show the character development of main protagonists, but sometimes they were begging for at least a single scene of closure). Still, as a whole, this drama was incredibly entertaining, providing both laughs and cries in almost every episode.

Acting-wise, it was really good. Hsieh Ying Xuan was fantastic! I feel compelled now to check her other stuff out. Other highlights were Chloe Lin and Cheryl Yang, but frankly - everyone did a really good job.

Characters were so vivid, so real, multilayered and complex. Weather I liked them, or not, I could understand where they were coming from and see underlying reasons for their behaviours: from self-sabotage of Chou Fan to Ai-Ma's actions while she tried to navigate a competitive world of showbusiness while chasing her dream and alienating everyone who ever cared for her, to Hsueh's husband (whom I really, really didn't like 😋) and his inferiority complex and insecurities.

What was fantastic about this drama was that with so much variety in people's personalities, the show never feels preachy or tries telling the audience what's the correct way to act. I dislike preachy shows just as much as I dislike exposition dumps in storytelling and one dimensional characters. Well, this show had none of that, and I appreciated it tremendously.

While a drama providing a glimpse into the lives of celebrities, Born for the Spotlight is foremost a story about human relationships. We have a difficult mother-daughter relationship, complicated love triangles, and a friendships that endures everything.

Watching Born for the Spotlight, I couldn't help but remember how OG Sex and the City used to feel back in the day. Only with more warmth and an overwhelming feeling of... wholesomeness, I guess? This show actually had me go "awww" with tears forming in my eyes more times than I could count (I mean, I could, but it would be way too troublesome due to its frequency).

Also, how frigging adorable are Chou Fan and Rogue? My goodness, I couldn't stop smiling every time these two were on screen (minus the sad parts, that is). I loved their dynamics, including the final confession scene (and I'm not a fan of public confessions, but that one was just as chaotic and goofy as their entire relationship).

All in all, if I were to be more level-headed about rating this drama, I'd probably go with 8/10 stars. It's a really decent work, with some cracks here and there, that don't affect the final experience much. However, from time to time, there are certain dramas that resonate with me so well, I am willing to go a bit "extreme", disregarding a more objective approach. Born for the Spotlight is one of them. 9/10.

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Feel-good overload of cuteness

This show is the quickest way to cavities and diabetes. It's sweetness overload. It's cute, it's quirky, it's bubbly. It's anything you could ask for in a feel-good show, which this drama certainly was for me.

Both main characters are likeable and, despite their overexaggerated affect, don't feel disingenuous. It's pretty easy to cheer for Ayaka's efforts to win Hiroko-sempai's heart and to feel for Hiroko's internal struggle. It's also really entertaining to witness all of it. I have to command Hiroko, though. If I were in her position, I'd give in halfway through the story, if not sooner.

The show successfully avoids forced angst, artificial drama and unnecessary distractions. It's compact format makes it easy to binge, while completely immersing yourself in this lovely story.

What I appreciated was the absence of some plot devices that I noticed appear often in WLW dramas (maybe that's just my luck and not a genre trope, I don't know), such as toxicity and borderline bullying/aggression between protagonists or cheating on spouses/boyfriends.

Here, everything remains sweet and pure, and that's exactly how I enjoyed it!

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Fantastic directing and great acting in a sensitive take on a delicate subject

What a wonderful watch. I loved how the story was revealed to the audience, from the first meeting of our protagonists, the relationship of Lok with Yan-Yan, to finally his second meeting with Yip Nam, and the struggles they went through. It was such an interesting way to tell their story, I completely didn't expect how it would unfold when I started watching.

I also think that the film provided us with enough information about both protagonists to understand their actions, including Lok's final decision or Yip Nam's lack of professionalism when she got involved with him in the first place. I liked that both FL and ML shared the same theme of their mothers affecting how they navigate relationships and love (I appreciated that Lok wasn't just reduced to being a person suffering from schizophrenia, but we got to hear of more of his life experiences influencing how he behaves).

The acting was great. Both main actors did a wonderful job, and both made me cry with their respective break-down scenes. The directing was beautiful. I loved all the far distance, wide angle shots, which - for me - emphasized the feeling of derealisation, but also switching from "Lok's perspective" to the "real world" perspective. I also enjoyed how a lot of scenes were filmed from the perspective of standing outside a window or hiding behind a shelf (as if someone was constantly there with Lok, following and observing him).

The movie treats the subject of mental illness with sensitivity and depth. I appreciated we got to see how Lok navigates his life (e.g. relying on the cellphone to see if a person talking to him is really there) and feel the insecurity he might feel, not knowing if things around him are real. The relapse scene at his apartment was really painful to watch. Yet at the same time, it was so well- filmed and acted that I was enjoying its every moment. The sequence when Yan-Yan and Yip Nam are both holding onto Lok and "fighting over" him was excellent in every detail!

Finally, a separate praise goes to the love scenes. The chemistry between Lok and Yip Nam was palpable, especially in that scene on a crowded train.

Highly recommended!

This was cross-posted with Viki.

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Masterfully acted by the female lead and visually stunning

This show at times felt like a thriller, at times like a Korean take on Sex and the City, at times like an indie production. It especially got me when it went all poetic and symbolic about FL's inner metamorphosis and conveyed it with imagery (even if as simple as showing her crossing the street on a red light for the first time in her life as symbolic of her committing an act of transgression towards cheating, but also towards a more free, self-oriented life).

Beautifully filmed and masterfully acted by the female lead. In fact, this was the best piece of acting performed by an actress I've ever watched on a kdrama. Other actors also did a good job (kudos especially to the men playing FL's husband, her newly found lover and the lady portraying the female manager at the bank). However, Kim Seo Hyung is just in a class of her own.

She can convey different types of emotions with just a subtle change in her expression. Sure, I appreciate the actors that go all out too, but I feel real mastery shines through when you're able to hit the right emotions, without overstating them. Kim perfected this craft.

This drama has a lot of layers. It functions partially as an unconventional cautionary tale. Showing how easy it is to fall off tracks, committing one transgression after another, even if they're motivated by compassion, kindness, or understandable feelings of wanting to be respected, loved, appreciated, or simply... alive.

It also shows you that even the most appealing form of escapism at the end of the day is still that: escapism (even if you call it an "oasis"). If you don't deal with the source of your problems or emptiness in your life, shopping or a younger lover can only do this much.

It's also a story of a woman who is a bit... strange: very smart and yet super gullible, disillusioned with life and yet hopeful, committing illegal acts yet almost too kind for this world. This duality makes her a really bizarre but admittedly interesting character.

Finally, it can also be read as a social commentary on how people obsessively value material possessions and care about status, labels, and appearances. If there is one shared theme for every character's  story in this drama, it is money.

For me, I absolutely enjoyed every aspect of this show.

The main romance portrayed in this drama is happening between FL and a man younger than her by, I would assume, at least 15 years. It quickly turns into a very weird dynamic, and money is a big part of it. Also, it's an adulterous relationship, to put it bluntly. In that respect, it's no grand love story.

And yet I found myself catching my breath in anticipation when these two appeared on screen, especially at the beginning of their romance. There was something very sensual and almost spiritual about their encounters.

I loved the scene when Yi Hwa and her soon-to-be lover are both walking down the street on its two opposite sides, stealing glances at one another. While they do so, FL does this movement of caressing the wet branches of nearby bushes with her fingers while walking. It's all very sensual.

The beginnings of their romance are filmed in a stunning way. The imagery, coupled with music and the actors' performances make it seem like these two are pulled towards each other by some magnetic force.

If I were to complain about anything, I'd say that the side characters' stories got a rather rushed development towards the end of the drama. Ep. 10 definitely felt like the creators tried to give everyone a life changing event, even if at the risk of it looking unnatural.

Still, I really enjoyed this drama. At times, I almost felt entranced by the acting, soundtrack, and cinematography. Other times, I was pausing the video out of anxiety of what was going to happen. And sometimes, I just felt genuinely sad for the characters (especially Ga Eul whom I'd grown to really like).

This was cross-posted with Viki.

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