Drama Watchlist of 2024

What I liked: Very heartwarming. Coming from Till the End of the Moon, I needed a light romance with comedy to lift my spirits and LIS did exactly that. I loved the chemistry between the leads and their journey to becoming a couple. 

What I disliked: While I do love when dramas have a good number of episodes, LIS didn't need 36. While I've seen draggy-er dramas, I feel like this one could've easily been wrapped up in 25 episodes or atleast at episode 30 where all of the main conflict is resolved for the most part. 

Recommend?: ✅

What I liked: Growth of the FL in terms of prowess, maturity and chemistry with the ML. 

What I disliked: The villains. Too obvious, not fleshed out or gone too soon and then brought back for an unnecessary "shock" factor, which makes me wonder if they were even needed at all.  The story is also very predictable and some characters that were meant to be important were not fully developed or rushed to complete the story.  Those last few episodes as well.. were a piece of work. 

Recommend: ❌

What I liked: The shining light of this show was the family aspect. I loved quanquan and what he brought to the story. 

What I disliked: The insane amount of miscommunication and draggyness of the plot. I didn't love the FL, I wanted her to grow in maturity and it felt like majority of the time I couldn't agree with her actions. Once the main drama was resolved, it felt like more obstacles were being thrown in to prolong the story where it wasn't necessary. 

Recommend: ❌

What I liked: AJTY is very purposeful in what is shown to viewers episode by episode. I enjoyed unraveling the mysteries behind character's actions before they were revealed and I loved that there were moments in the show that I couldn't have imagined or guessed would happen. 

AJTY also portrays chemistry very well between the FL & ML. The characters in this show feel fleshed out and well written. I like the challenging aspect that I felt when trying to dechiper if some characters (i.e. Shangguan and Shang Jue) were playing a game/not following for each other or if they were truly moved by each others actions despite the fact that Shangguan has a mission and Shang Jue is skeptical of those around him.  

AJTY made me think in more ways than one and I can appreciate unique storytelling when I see it. 

What I disliked: Gong Zi Shang. I feel like this character was meant to be the comedic relief of the show but it's very exaggerated comedic relief that I seldom found entertaining. I think I could've dealt away from this and instead kept the shows focus on developing pivotal characters, relationships and the history behind Wufeng and the Gong Family.

The pacing was extremely slow. 

The ending. End the show at 42:27 to avoid cliffhangers. 

Recommend: ✅

What I Liked: I loved the female empowerment. The three female lleads stuck with each other and even when their sisterhood was challenged, they always found their way back to each other.  I found myself in awe of Pan'er's confidence, bravery and intelligence as she navigated through the series as a proud businesswoman of the Song era. 

The cinemetography was also absolutely beautiful. 

What I disliked: The plot is slow which I expected but there is immense dragging in the middle of the story that I didn't love. 

Recommend: ✅

What I liked: The show brought me the feels in every way possible. I didn’t think I’d be interested in the world of billiards but it was exciting watching Yin Guo competitive fire when playing in the sport and Lin Yiyang reignite his spark and love in the sport through Yin Guo. As we watch Yin Guo and Yiyang get to know each other over the course of episodes, I found the romance to be adorable. I felt so much chemistry watching these two together and the pairing felt natural.

In the later half of the series, I liked seeing Yiyang finally face his past and reunite with his friends — i felt emotional as the character was able to overcome that sense of pride to progress in his maturity.

There are zero love rivals (that had a serious chance) or annoying side characters that disrupt the flow of the show.  

The cinematography + location was beautiful and added a different layer to the story.

What I disliked: The pacing is quite faster than i expected with getting the leads together. Usually I’m happy to avoid a slowburn romance but given that the show is 30 episodes, it does feel like the story/plot was not enough to keep up for the faster paced romance. By this, i mean that while I was interested in Yiyang’s past and the romance, the show in between revealing this felt very slow and a less engaging watch.

This drama features an attraction at first sight and feelings progress rather quickly between the two as discussed above. Even as I completed this drama, I still wonder what attracted him to Yin Guo (before even speaking to her he was insta attracted) out of all women in the show. 

At the end of it all, I would recommend watching for the performance of our leads when portraying an adorable first love romance (to my knowledge it was their first times being swayed by someone) and the initial growth to our ML as he finds his passion again.

Recommend:✅

What I liked: Chemistry between the leads, bold, strong and intelligent female lead. There was also a really beautiful + satisfying end to the story. 

What I disliked: Horribly written characters -- especially the King! The king is insufferable, the main villain/second male lead is tedious and the conflict between the main couple is frequent and unrelenting. The villains and the conflict in the story do not show us anything we haven't seen before and it's repetitive throughout the story. 

There are many episodes (that should’ve been downsized) where the ML has so much intelligence and prowess and yet we still have the airhead king, the ML’s scheming brothers, the second female lead and second male lead that he continuously falls victim to. Not to mention the endless amount of conflict and bickering between the leads for small reasons. 

There would be moments where one episode would be “let’s forget who we are and have a great day” and the next episode problems will continue to make a breakthrough. 

Recommend: Undecided. If you're used to endless amount of tropes, nonsense and repetitive conflicts -- you may be able to sit through this and still enjoy the gem of romance we were allowed to see. This was a hard watch for me and I wish the conflicts, villains and story showed me something different. The saving grace was the acting of our leads and the romance/chemistry they shared telling the story. 

What I liked: I liked seeing Feng Xin/A’Yin grow through her tribulations.  It is very rewarding that have watched such a likable character that has struggled for 20+ episodes and have them be such a powerful force of nature that can back up her already strong willed personality.

I also liked the friendship and bonds A’Yin was able to make across the eagle and demon clans. Their banter and journey together made the watch very enjoyable.

Additionally, although lacking in power, I love that our ML is kind to those who deserve it rather than being the typical stern/brooding/aloof type of character.

Lastly, the acting from our leads is something I looked forward to in every episode. The script may not be my absolute favorite but every-time our ML felt sad or wronged, as a viewer I could feel it and I felt sad too. The same can be said for our lead, Zhao Lu Si. Her performances get better and better with every drama. The chemistry was great, I wish there were even more scenes to flaunt it.

What I disliked: TLI falls into the same predictable elements that many xianxia genre dramas hold. This could be a good or a bad thing to a viewer but I for one, love when a drama goes against the typical tropes and makes me think.

I wanted more from the writing of the story and I loved the prequel (ALP) and I was hoping that through Yuanqi’s story, I can feel some of the love that I felt during the prequel. It unfortunately falls short in terms of intelligent characters and interesting villains.

Lastly the CGI wasn’t the best. Felt very weak in many important moments. 

Recommend: ✅ (I'm a bit more forgiving of the drama's flaws when weighing the pros + cons)

What I Liked: This youthfulness that is this drama was a serotonin booster. I felt waves of motivation and happiness when watching that made for an enjoyable watch of the team and their friendship.

I love how charismatic the FL is. I started the drama on a whim and it certainly cheered me up with many of the elements i enjoy.

The leads relationship were so cute & fluffy.

I actually belly laughed while watching this drama multiple times. I can say that it was truly a breath of fresh air despite its flaws.

What I Disliked: The emphasis every episode that the accidents are a coincidence until the later end (15-16) of the show. It’s clearly not a coincidence if accidents keep occurring to the same people and I wanted our characters to wisen up. There was always curiosity of the latter but no action until it was too late.

The villain. The motivation was a weak plot point. I didn’t foresee this drama even having a villain or mystery plot that was shown but the villain didn’t have a strong enough motivation to convince me on why they would target the FL and other women for example and not other team members that also had feelings for others in the squad.

The romance was very cute between the leads but I wished they fleshed the ML out a bit more. It was also harder to ship the SML with the amount of obsession he showed over Hae Yi. The other characters of the drama although their romance is hinted, it felt rushed (with exception to Hae Yi’s best friend and Min Jae which I saw coming).

Recommend: ✅ (an overall fun drama to watch with a good blend comedy, romance & mystery.)