If you're in the mood for something a little less silly, a little more angsty. . .

Of the fantasy/xianxia shows I've watched this one is the most adult/serious. It's not necessarily the one with the best growth and themes (that goes to Ashes of Love). But this focuses mostly on adults with adult issues (marriage, raising children, feuding families, honouring ones mentor etc.)

I enjoyed watching it, it was addicting and I was curious how it would resolve. But, I don't have the same fondness for the couple as I do for some of the other shows I've watched.

The plot was very engaging and rarely too repetitive, and the actors on their own were quite good. But, when the couple was on screen together, you didn't get the little looks/touches energy of a couple in love. In the end, I was happy with the story and glad I watched it all the way through, but I wasn't sad to leave the universe behind.... EXCEPT

I really enjoyed the secondary couple between Bai Fengjiu and Dong Hua, and I'm glad to see they are getting their own spinoff. It never felt like wasted time, and they actually seemed to have a more give and take, naturalistic type interactions than the main couple.

Music was nothing special, and I'm not sure whether I'd watch it again, perhaps certain scenes.

Other Criteria I score by

Complex Themes - 6
(Ye Hua and Bai Qian go through a lot over their lifetimes, but there are not strong themes besides appreciating the love that you have, and being loyal/having honour). Also, giving in to overbearing parents is endless, one needs to find the moral strength to stand up to them.)
Character Growth -7
(Both Ye Hua and Bai Qian show a decent amount of character growth, as they go through romance and lots of loss)
Nuanced Women -7
(Bai Qian and Bai Fengjiu both have nuanced personalities, and are good playing different types Bai Qian is more tom boyish and then stoic/austere, whereas Bai Fengjiu is more silly and headstrong)
Cinematography/Production Values - 6
(It's all CGI and green screens unless they are in the human world, I didn't find the worlds created or the costumes very beautiful, but it was all competently done)

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On how to be the 'perfect' daughter, wife, mother . .

If you want to sit through hours of lessons on how to be the perfect woman centuries ago, then this drama is for you. It was not for me. Shiyi, our main female lead, may gently lose her way but she is always selfless, looking out for others and willing to take blame. Ever patient, she uses her intelligence and skills only in the service of the causes of others.

Everyone around her, from her husband, to her own family, to her inlaws, is frustrating, narrow-minded and stubborn, though there is a nice growth and bond that forms between Shiyi and the Marquis Yongping over time. There's a fair amount of overacting from the side characters.

The music is nice, there really is nothing to rewatch. I grade on other criteria as well:

Complex Themes: 5.0
Be selfless and center others, your family, and your country and you will be rewarded with a contentful, joyful life.

Character Growth: 6.5
Shiyi becomes a more mature character, and her husband loosens up over time, but there isn't much character growth.

Relationships between Women/Complex Women characters: 7.0
On one hand, there's a lot of women, they interact a lot, and the discussion is not quite all about men. On the other hand, they are all stereotypes with very little depth.

Cinematography/Production Values: 8.0
For a smaller period drama, the costume, set and jewelry design is all excellent, really beautiful and creative with interesting flourishes and color combinations. The sets are a bit small and claustrophobic (almost nothing is shot in the 'real world' all on 4 or so established sets). There's very little action or complex scenes. The camera shoots straight on with very little creativity.

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Premise resolves quickly ...leaving a bizarre combination of plot elements

This felt like a bunch of rehashed Kdrama plots remixed. And, no, apparently there is no way to get away from the psycho killer/stalker plot lines that randomly pop up in K dramas, Worse once the premise is exhausted, the chemistry in the main romance absolutely fizzles.

If you like a lot of yearning, and are willing to overlook the thin plot featuring a bunch of adults who apparently have no parents, siblings or life outside their work and all have the immaturity of a 12 year old, well then maybe. This would work a lot better as a drama about teen idols than full grown adults.

Sets, costumes, cinematography are very average, The only real positives are everyone is very attractive, and there's a decent amount of scenes with women succeeding at their work.

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Great suspense and an endearing friends to lovers romance ....

Will this end on a cynical, happy or tragic note? Finding out the answer kept me on the edge of my seat for all 12 episodes. More thriller than horror, Happiness reminded me of the old X-files series in the US. The main couple treat each other as equals, long time friends who can communicate without speaking a word. They both are bad*ss and excel at their jobs.

Similar to his role in Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Hyungsik is excellent at portraying someone who is head over heels for the woman next to him - in all her strengths and weaknesses. Han Hyo-joo does an excellent job of portraying very grounded, protective qualities with no patience for the strong hurting the week.

The ~12-16 side characters are distinctive with GOOD and BAD qualities that are played as archetypes/caricatures. Overwhelmingly, the bad qualities are delusion, greed, and narcissism. Despite exaggerated portrayals, I thought the personalities represented were accurate and rare to see. I was as invested in side plots as I was the main plot, and didn't feel any urge to skip the side character scenes.

(*SPOILER* big minus points for interjecting a needless serial killer storyline, and also using the sociopathic doctor one too many times)

The music was really well done with two very distinctive styles: amped up/industrial and mournful, nostalgic guitar. The two different music styles kept you guessing as to whether the show would end happily or sadly.

Rewatch - I'm not sure about rewatch, but definitely a lot of the visuals are going to stick in my head, I felt like I was stuck in the apartment building with them and that I knew these characters and cheered them (well some of them) on.

(*SPOILER* minus points for making the end scenes not at all reflect the depth of the show - it was like all the trauma etc. was all magically erased)

I grade on other criteria as well:

Themes: 8.5
Greed and never-ending desires are the downfall of human beings. Continuing to be narcissistic, self-centered, and fantasizing about triumphing over others in crisis are unfortunate traits in many. Trauma and tragedy often magnify the character traits that already existed. Keeping grounded in reality, surrounded by family and friends can keep hope alive and the ability to continue to be a community minded human being. Home, family (blood or found) are the keys to happiness. Overcoming disappointment early in life and finding reasons to live can provide resilience in tough circumstances down the road.

(*Spoiler* if the show had ended differently, I would have given the themes a higher score, but in the last 15 minutes it's like the whole disease never happened.)

Complex characters/Character Growth: 7
The general was an excellent complex character, with a mix of opportunism and a moral center. The rest didn't so much grow as illustrate how different types of people respond to crisis. It was realistic that people would still obsess over real estate portfolios, wealth and how to take advantage of a crisis for their own benefit. I also thought it was realistic that people would take silly risks on the optimism that they were special/unique or wouldn't trust others evaluation of the dangers until they had experience it themselves.

Complex women characters/Relationships between Women: 7.5
Yoon Sae-Boom is a really wonderful mix of caring, nurturing and can't stand societal niceties. Despite her slight figure, you never feel like she couldn't kick *ss and take names. It was a realistic blend too, not whiplash between two different selves. I liked the range of women presented and also a minor theme about how women handle crisis vs men. The show, however, had a ratio of 1:1 women to men characters, and the women didn't have rich relationships with each other.

Production Values/Cinematography: 9
There were some really striking visual scenes, great use of music and realistic fight scenes with lots of grappling and use of the human body. In this era of CGI, the real zombies and physical fighting were very much welcome. 1 point off as it was completely unbelievable (esp. given the number of cars in the parking lot) how few residents were in the building when it was locked down - the lack of people just felt odd.

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Great comedic actress, ultimately a mess

What if a modern man landed straight in the middle of your standard Joseon era plot, but into the body of the queen instead of the king?

The actress here (Shin Hye Sun) is really amazing, and plays all the bodily quirks, humor and slapstick in a truly wonderful way. The first 10 episodes sail along on her sheer acting ability plus some love triangle intrigue. The male actors that form the love triangle are a bit one note, but they show good connection with the actress.

It quickly became clear that no one knew how to end the plot, and the writers just stuck to the same themes and gimmicks of the first 10 episodes. The rest of the actors and plot devices are somewhat mediocre, and so everytime the main actress is off screen it was hard to pay attention.

By episode 17, I was skipping rapidly (I did finish it). Music was fine, I would not rewatch. I grade on other criteria:

Complex Themes: 6
Love can come in unexpected ways. Embracing what life throws at you with sincerity can be rewarding. The gender and body dynamics are not explored much at all.

Character Growth: 7.5
The male chef in Kim So Yong's body goes from being dismissive and treating it all as a game, to sincerely wanting to help the people he encounters, and feeling more open to emotions. It was an expected transformation, but still decently done.

Complex Women/Relationships Between Women: 7
There's lots of women characters but besides the main character, they are all somewhat caricatures with very thin backstories. Kim So Yong's rival was the only other female character that had a bit of depth.

Cinematography/Production Budget: 7
Competent, in the way most modern dramas are. But, the sets, costumes etc. all feel like you've seen them twenty times before. The fight scenes are fairly uninspired.

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Cute and refreshing premise . . . but then what?

Refreshing 1: Gu Weiyi isn't perfect out of the box, but he knows what he wants and he wants Situ Mo. He usually does the wrong thing the first time he tries, but he wants to do better, is eager to improve, and learns from his mistakes.

Refreshing 2: Situ Mo has a relevant backstory. After hanging around a non-committal guy for months and months, she is now a bit hard to trust and quick to anger. She is high -energy, with a fierce, sulky temper - but that is an earned characteristic - not irrational and out of the blue.

Unfortunately, the plot is dragged over 24 episodes to the point where I stopped caring how it all resolved (I did watch it to the end for the record). The other negative point, beyond pacing, was I did not like the secondary couple plot- it just was thrown in without any real theme or purpose.

The main couple was incredibly endearing and while not 'naturalistic' it wasn't horribly overacted. The secondary characters did overact but not enough to throw off the whole show.

Music was competent, but I do wish there was one or two more songs in the mix.

I would not re-watch. The show is very quiet, slice-of life with no particular dramatic moments. Any sort of tension is resolved within minutes.

I grade by other criteria as well.

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Complex Themes - 7.5
Nothing complex, but I did like the premise that it's not the first impression or first time that matters - it's how you work hard and improve at things.
Character Growth - 5
The characters are pretty much the same at the beginning as at the end - there isn't a sense that the characters have been changed by time or events. The show could easily have taken place over a couple months with the same level of character growth.
Complex Women - 8
I liked Situ Mo a lot. She tries hard, is willing to make mistakes, is exuberant and enthusiastic. It was very endearing. While I think some could be turned off by her temper/failures to communicate, I think in the context of what she's been through (and Gu Weiyi's clumsy relationship mistakes) it makes sense and she usually recovers quickly.
Cinematography/Production Values - 7.5
Is exactly how one would expect from this show. There's no extraordinarily wealthy people in it, nor fantasy elements, which makes it easy to do. There is a lot of shooting outside/in real locations, and the apartment felt like a real apartment (not sure if it was or a soundstage).

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Compelling themes and great acting make this one of the best of the genre . . .

Ashes of Love has a really strong plot with a core theme - selfish, destructive 'love' vs a selfless, supportive love. The show explores this in a variety of ways through familial, friendship and romantic relationships.

The star of the show is Xufeng/Phoenix who undergoes numerous transformations, has immense character growth, and is very compelling to watch. His chemistry with the main female character, Jinmi is excellent. The amount of ups and downs these two characters go through and how they change as a result is really striking to watch.

The weakness of the show for me was the demon princess/demon politics storylines. I wanted to skip the associated romance and plot points. In addition, the peripheral/supporting characters are often a bit one note. As a result, I felt the series started to drag a bit in the second half.

The two main songs were uncommonly good for the genre. Really sweeping without being corny or overblown..In the last episode, they really added to the 'epic' feeling of everything the characters had gone through.

I have other criteria I score by:

Complex Themes -10
(There is really strong themes about selfish vs. selfless love, setting ego aside, and others that were extremely well done.)
Character Growth -9
(The two main characters change, grow, and transform believably over the course of the series. Unfortunately, the rest of the characters are not given much space to do much more than act as plot devices)
Nuanced Women -7
(There are a fair amount of female characters, but only the main female lead seemed to have the room to play a full character).
Cinematography/Production Values - 7
(I personally found the CGI a bit hard to take seriously - it seemed to be most (if not all??) filming was with a green screen with not much attempt to blend in real elements with fantasy elements. Costumes were competent, but it was clear most of the budget went to CGI - they wear the same things lots of episodes in a row, and the costumes lack detail adequate accessories in closeup shots)

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Beautifully shot, with an intriguing fantasy premise, but then the story flounders . . .

The two major flaws of this series is 1) the lack of chemistry in the romance and 2) the lack of purpose to the story. I was so frustrated I dropped it just a few episodes from the end.

Shin Hye-sun as the main female lead does an excellent job, as she did in Mr Queen, at portraying someone who isn't what they seem on the surface. I fully believed that she had lived many lives beyond this one. Ahn Bo-hyun, however, played his character so straight, wide-eyed, bumbling and a bit gullible that you couldn't understand WHY the main female lead was so intrigued by him as a romantic partner. Where was the depth of many lives in HIS eyes?!?

On top of that, the fantasy mysteries were all dragged out, why was she being reborn again and again? Who were these weird people popping out from the past? Why was everyone around her suffering bad luck? etc. These mysteries were introduced at the halfway point, but 3 or so episodes later we were no closer. Everything had stalled.

If the romance had been better OR the fantasy and themes been better, I would have stuck with it. But both fell down, and being cinematic and pretty was just not enough to hold my interest.

PS On a bit more of a petty note, Ahn Bo-hyun's suits were atrocious and I couldn't tell whether that was supposed to portray something about the character - it started to really irritate me.

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An entertaining story on how to be the ideal, empowered woman and find romance along the way. . .

In the first half, the enemies to lovers plot is extremely satisfying. Hua Zhi and Gu Yan Xi are both earnest characters trying to do their best and find some happiness despite the emperor and fate standing in their way. There's also a lot of endearing scenes as the women of the Hua family band together and become resilient and independent.

But in the second half the plot grinds to a halt. The emperor is not suited for ruling during peace time, and there is no way he will forgive Hua's family. Of course, Hua Zhi and Gu Yan Xi would never rebel, so they just . . . wait for him to change his mind ??? If you were hoping for political intrigue and machinations, there are none to be found.

The acting overall is so-so (Gu Yan Xi needs a lot of music and effects to be intimidating), but the chemistry between the primary couple and the secondary couple both is excellent. I was cheering both couples on and it's the only reason I kept watching the show. The music is fairly good nothing here to really rewatch.

In the end, there is no complexity of themes or plots, but I appreciated the emphasis on women being independent, and I enjoyed the romantic chemistry.

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For lovers of the manga/anime a 10 and a must watch for the whole live action series, for those new to the story they may find this confusing and disjointed . .

(Rurouni Kenshin is one of my favorite mangas.)

A faithful, thrilling rendition of the best scenes of the manga/anime, this string of moments is awe inspiring to watch. The strong themes on life after trauma - paired with thrilling action, compelling romance, and beautiful visuals is hard to beat.

If I had one nitpick, the manga is written by a man, but the story has fully developed women characters and themes, separate and apart from the 'villain of the week.' Yet here, the women become side characters, and strangely, the villains have lots of screen time. There was no need to overload the drama with these disturbing scenes, given the series already struggles to honor the large number of characters included in the manga.

Watching the live action Kenshin reconcile his past, and take a step into a better future with Kaoru and our gang showing him the way, is a rewarding, touching, even sublime experience. When I ended this series, I was incredibly sad to say goodbye to this universe.

It's the greatest compliment I can give when I say I wish there was more . . .

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A stylish, addictive mystery with beautiful action scenes . . .

Everyone is a suspect in this spy thriller of a drama. The twists and turns keep it engaging. As with many dramas, it starts slowing down in the last 1/3, and gets too complicated for its own good. But, it's genuinely unique and striking and worth the watch despite this.

The romances and character development are a weak point. Love is declared not shown, plus the good guys being mostly men and the spies being mostly women is a weird decision that makes all the romances feel a bit similar. Because there is so much action, also the characters are fairly thin and not fully fleshed out.

The writers leave space for there to be a Season 2/Part 2 to this drama, but I don't know if I will stick around for it. I really like character and theme driven dramas. This is beautiful, with a lot of suspense, but ultimately does not say much . .

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Addictive, over-the-top melodrama at its finest, with a great romance, and the perfect length . . .

Now this is how you tell a modern cinderella story! Jung Yoo Min as Han Yi Joo excels as she seizes her chance to grow some strength against her maddeningly selfish family. Sung Hoon as Seo Do Guk is the perfect partner, truly supportive, protective and considerate. Together, through all the ridiculous twists and turns of the plot they stay true to themselves. This keeps the plot from getting frustrating, you are never mad at the main characters, just the circumstances they find themselves in.

There's lots of protectiveness and rescuing, and it's just all around good fun. A couple points off for 1) incorporating prejudices in about adoption/step family (over and over 'true blood' relatives support each other in the way that not 'true blood' relatives do not) 2) there was a not sex-positive, dubious consent sex scene that was thrown in for no good reason.

Music, cinematography, are all competent and typical of this style of drama. If you like dramatic over the top plots and a strong side of romance this is for you.

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A thrilling, epic historical romance. Well worth a watch . . .

Some caveats on the portrayal of the 'barbarians' at the end:

Lee Jang Hyun is a familiar character, a world-weary ex spy or military man who hides his skills and history behind a joking, frivolous womanizing mask. What is unique, is that he meets Yoo Gil Chae an entitled, determined and crafty 'fox' of her village and falls head over heels for her because of these qualities, not in spite of them. Here, though young and immature, is a woman who has the resilience to survive. As these characters get tossed to and fro, partially due to being in the middle of a tragic and gory war, and partially due to their own inability to be vulnerable, you very much cheer on their survival and happiness.

Towards the end, the miscommunications and missed connections stretch into the absurd. It is understandable that both characters would prioritize their country, community or family over their romantic love - laudable even. It's also understandable that both misunderstand each other - assuming that their love was weak instead of that their duty called on them to act differently. This does not forgive the lack of letter writing and direct communication of the last episode. The lack of communication during war is forgivable - during peacetime less so, and so some points were knocked off for that.

The acting here is believable and top notch, not for one moment from the main characters to the supporting characters, was I ever taken out of the story. Namkoong Min does an excellent job in the early episodes of hinting at the cold competent nature that hides behind the mask. Ahn Eun Jin has the difficult job of portraying a character with many unlikeable flaws and making her come alive and be endearing and she does just that.

The music was sweeping and epic, and some scenes will definitely linger, even if the show isn't really set up for rewatching. I grade on other criteria as well:

Themes: 10
In difficult times, the clear headed, determined will to survive at any cost will triumph over ideological purity. You can find someone that loves you for your difficult qualities not in spite of them. Beware parting with angry words or things left unsaid, you could end up living a life of regret. Be skeptical of titles and power. Look to people's actions not their words in determining where there values and priorities are. Romantic love is not always what to prioritize there is our responsibility to our country, community and family to consider.

Complex characters/Character development: 8.5
All the characters even the secondary ones, have different sides to them and I appreciated this. I was mildly annoyed that instead of having a bigger time skip and allowing Yoo Gil Chae to fully mature, the plot kept them reuniting piecemeal and didn't let the mark of war and trauma full settle on to her.

Complex Women/Strong connections with Women. 9.0
The friendship between Gil Chae and Eun Ae was a complex and enjoyable one. Both having a deeper connection, than their reputations as the 'bad girl' and 'good girl' of the village would imply. Eun Ae, like Jang Hyun, respects Gil Chae for what would be considered 'bad qualities' in a woman.

Cinematography/Production Values: 9.0
Really beautiful, with plentiful use of outdoor sets, well-done costumes, and excellent fight scenes. Nothing new or innovative, but a pleasure to watch.

Note on the 'Barbarians':
The portrayal of the Mongolian and Jin/Qin people is primitive and dehumanizing. It was not 100% this way. I did like that even Jang Hyun underestimates them at times, assuming they will greedily go for the money or gold, only for them to catch him in his plots. I also liked how it shows how Jang Hyun can trade and live amongst them: he understands and respects their practical drive to survive and conquer over the scholars of his own country upholding ideological purity even if it led to defeat. But, I'd be curious for those more knowledgable or from those heritages how they found the portrayal.

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Realistic, cinematic and far too long . . .

A beautiful short story concept dragged over four hours. The plot, themes and characters are too paper thin to sustain the weight. I would have much preferred a one hour story, in a set of four (as the title 'soundtrack' implies).

Park Hyung-sik plays a familiar character who is boyishly and earnestly in love with the woman by his side and badly trying to hide it. The only one fooled being the woman herself. Unlike in Happiness or Strong Girl Bong Soon, however, that's all there is to him. Han So-Hee is new to me and does a great job encapsulating a head strong, brash girl who is more talk than action. Again, however, that's all there is to her.

The music is surprisingly not front and center and not particularly well-done. The actress doesn't have a guitar or a keyboard, she doesn't hum or sing, she doesn't go on long rants about song structures and the repetitive commercialism of modern pop music. She just scribbles in a notepad. (similarly Park Hyung-Sik fails to convince that he's a genius art photographer).

It has a beautiful, millennial cinematic vibe - a string of suspended in golden air moments. I appreciated the setting of cozy, snowy winter instead of the typical golden sunshine-y feeling of other shows that have tried similar ideas.

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A wild, silly low-budget farce with a nod to feminism . . .

In the theatre style of comedies of old, we have bodily gags, cross dressing, evil cackling villains, and the actors look like they will burst out laughing in every scene. It's a lot of fun for the first 10 episodes, but it drags more and more as all plot points are met with the same delivery.

The gender dynamics kept me from dropping it. The main female lead is bold, a great strategist, and is insightful into the motivations of people. The show makes valid points about the 'woman behind the man' just means that there's tons of talented women adviser and strategists out there that never get their recognition. The male lead recognizes her strengths quickly and finds them intriguing and endearing.

Is it enough? It wasn't for me, I started fastforwarding through scenes or watching out of the corner of my eye. But, to be fair to the show, this is a show that is meant to be watched as you do errands around the house, chat with your family, scroll on your phone. If that's something you need, this could be the show for you.

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