A HARDCORE SLOWBURN

The story is good, themes and side characters well written. But it is such a slowburn drama that i was absolutely BORED out of my mind for a good chunk of it. Jing Bo Ran and Tang song yun are my dream team and was the only reason i finished the drama.
The flashbacks i felt were so uselessly long and there was no actual indication we had gone back in time, since all the settings and characters and personalities are same in the past and present.

In my humble opinion it is not a special drama, you won't miss anything if you don't watch it. Its a background drama i watched while doing work.

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A MAKJANG without cheesy filler

This drama is surprisingly well written for a full sized makjang drama. It has all the classic tropes BUT THE ACTING ELEVATES IT.
Most of the time i would expect some actor to lack in a long running drama which tends to lower the quality but the acting really brought it all together.
Hats off to Lee Hwi-Hyang the actress playing Tae Min's mom, she was so thoroughly evil that even when her back story was revealed there was no empathy to be felt for her. Go joo won was also a very convincing male lead that we all just wanted to root for.
I have to say the last 10 episodes delivered so many plot twists that i was wondering if the writers had extended the number of episodes airing.

Pros:
- proper character development for some of the characters (not all)
- entertaining watch. while some scenes are so skippable the over all watch worthy or on the edge of your seat factor is there.
- self aware characters. i like these characters much more than dumb and ignorant and thank fully there was presence of maturity in all characters
- Lee Pi Lip , his acting was probably better than his sisters lol, but it could also be because she was a convincing narcissist that i like pilip better

Cons:
- I didn't see the character development from some of the main characters that i wanted to witness.
- episode 46-51 was a weird wrap for me

_______________ SPOILERS________________________________________
CON 1.
Hyo Sungs Wife. This woman is such a give and take type of being. only after realizing that her mother in law is about to have a chaebol son in law did she START paying attention her or even respecting her.
MI RIM > over this B, i dont even wanna know her name

CON2.
I do not understand how in episode 48 Tae Ho became the such a red flag, while being a consistent green flag.
after Tae ho finds out about a very tragic fact behind his parent's death he doesnt explain anything to Hyo Shim and only says we need to put off us getting married, I am going through something and need space. Hyo Shim was disappointment but NEVER said no, she said thats fine, was supportive and gave him his space and time. AT THIS POINT Hyo shims mom was willing to get the two married...
Skip to ep 48 after some things unfolded hyo shims mom was not willing to let the two get amrried but finally gave in in episode 47 and tae ho was in a rush to get married. Hyo shim finds out something about her dad and tells tae ho she needs time and needs to put off the wedding. what does Tae Ho do? THROWS A TANTRUM. Do you even love me ? why are we together? suggested infidelity, and even planned to leave the country..... man gaslit her out of this world... HYO SHIM was still too good for this loser.

CON 3.
HYO SHIM my girl went through a life changing transformation and a fight to gain independence only to make more sacrifices of giving her liver at the end SMH...

CON 4.
The ending. all i saw was that a good daughter who knows how to sacrifice will sacrifice everything till the end, and let everyone gas light her... sadness

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too long and too boring

I am a fan of ro woon and impartial to jo boah cuz they are both good actors and they did do an okay job.
however the drama was just so long and boring and they filled in useless amount of information and plot holes which made zero sense.
it's actually a waste of time drama that did nothing for me to invoke emotions sympathize with suyi or even really get into the whole "destined" part.

this was a max 10 episode drama that could have been done with much better writing. anyone debating to watch this because they don't have time and want to watch something good, skip this one

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A second chance at life - DONE RIGHT!!!

I am so very impressed with the way this drama was executed.
usually dramas and manhwas around characters waking up in another life is such a cringe plot, but the cast and production team really made it work. the emotions felt real and not a manufactured script that is being shoved down peoples throats to make them believe.
Marcus and Vivian made such an amazing couple and their chemistry was on point. kiss scenes were so good.
I loved how simon playing qiangfen was breaking the 4th wall within his own world every now and then. in the beginning i could sense that qiangfeng has a weird thing going, and he did. And it was awesome.

overall an amazing drama. I don't know if its something i would watch again because the excitement and intensity of the drama is interesting mostly on a first watch

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lighthearted romance with butterflies

I am writing this review as a second time watcher and there are alot of good things bad also negative tropes.
The GOOD:
The really nice thing about this drama is that the scene sequences and the cuts are well done. At first it might seem like a slow burn but the push and pull between Mewadee and Songpao is very adorable and lovely, sometimes i sit in my seat and fangirl for a minute. The note worthy aspect of this drama is that Songpao makes it very clear to wan (SFL) that he is not interested which makes it clear that Pao is not like an oblivious or ignorant man who is leading on two women. The friendship between Pao, Wan and Jaet is also worth the watch, they are all close friends who want comfort from each other but clearly as adults they all draw their own lines, indicating what is okay and what is not. Jaet and Wans story development is also interesting. It is nice to see how they break through their past selves and grow. the way the story flows is relatively well done in contrast to what you usually see in thai dramas. The romance trope is also well done. The overall themes of mental health, environment awareness, sincerity and kindness are explored in a relatable way.
THE BAD:
However I noticed something which i could not let go of. In the first 8 episodes despite the push and pull and tension, Pao continues to act as a FATHER to Mewadee. He lets everyone advise him as if he was raising a daughter, to the point where people do mistake mewadee as his daughter.Point to be noted is shes 19 and him at the most 10 years older. It would have made more sense that Pao brings Mewadee to Bangkok with a promise of marriage and how they move forward, but the child to love interest was difficult. Thankfully Mewadee never sees him as such, and I assume the only reason Pao acts liKe that is because he is much older, but still a little weird.
They discredit Mewadee alot in this drama. She is a badass and temperamental girl who literally kicks gangster butt and can hunt animals, but they treat her as if she is the silliest and the most inexperienced woman. They classically downplayed the female leads ability to hold her own in a city setting just because its a new place.

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Amazing chemistry and acting but weak script at times

This drama has some major star power; joe chen and huang xiao ming absolutely killed it along with the rest of the cast. The chemistry between all the actors is evident and they show all the emotions and romance blossoming through the camera amazingly. The pure sadness and rebelliousness we see in yingdong makes you want to empathize with him, but also mingzhu is just as pitiful.
despite the star power and amazing chemistry at parts the slimy script writing degraded the quality of the show. At times the script will contradict itself, for example the zhouzhen(ML) will tell jinxiu (FL) you cant live in shanghai bund by yourself, its not for a country girl like you. he in fact goes out of his way to keep guards posted and provides her with a job and home. But later zhouzhen tells the 2nd FL(mingzhu) that jinxiu can survive anywhere using her own abilities. SPOILER (zhouzhen saves jinxiu from being raped when she was working at a hostess bar) she would not have been able to fend for herself at all.
A damsel in distress is a damsel in distress, it would have been better to recognize that and go with it, rather than give the FL a very brazen personality being brave with little sense of humility pretending she can make it anywhere. this is another thing, we see personal growth in all the characters, but the FL. She remains that naive country girl who is merely saved by the mafia lord and does what he wants or what she wants. At some point you want to cheer on for mingzhu more than anyone else.
again, the script also made zhouzhen into such a possessive and jealous man in love. zhouzhen loves and cares for jinxiu and sacrifices constantly for her, but the character is again contradicting himself. He is so gentle with her when he falls in love with her but gets weirdly aggressive after. it was an odd switch.

The music is absolutely forgettable, it cuts in and out at the weirdest timing.

i honestly was more invested in mingzhus story near in the last 14 episodes and. Not worth a rewatch

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An ode to those who are lost and found

This is such an amazing drama truly hard hitting to those stuck in their mundane lives. It is so real in its message and transparent in what its trying to show.
Probably one of the best dramas if not the best of of our generation. It tells the story of the three siblings very well, not hiding at all the insecurities, flaws or even the dark sides of these characters. The need to be loved and wanting to change is such a real emotion that everyone feels in different levels of desperation. In this drama we really get to see how love is not something that you come up within a day and passion definitely doesn't sustain it. Its the pace, the courage to keep going and the willingness to be honest that makes life livable and love bearable.
This is probably one of those dramas, I wish i could completely wipe from my memory just so I can experience it again.
The writing is amazing, and the actors are amazing. As always very good looking people still looking very good no matter what emotion is being expressed and when life is messing with them.

i will be coming back to this drama in every stage of my adult life.

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