Review: A Dream Within A Dream [China]

THE SHORT VERDICT:

When Show’s at its best, it’s screaming good fun, coz it’s just that funny and unexpected, in all the right ways. I don’t often laugh out loud with my dramas, but there were a good number of times that I had to pause an episode, just to laugh.

Unfortunately, when Show is not at its best, it can feel frustrating, like it’s cycling in place and reusing the same narrative ground. I didn’t like that very much.

As an upside, Show’s strengths outweigh its weaknesses, and Show does manage to stick the landing, in my opinion.

Overall, worth a look, especially if you enjoy transmigration stories.

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Review: The Prisoner Of Beauty [China]

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show starts out really strong, and manages to end on a solid note, but it does kind of waffle a bit, in the middle stretch, which takes away from its overall quality, I feel.

The premise is great, with two very smart, very shrewd leads up against each other, in a political marriage, and who eventually fall in love and become a real couple instead of just a diplomatic one.

Liu Yu Ning and Song Zu Er bring our leads to life very well, so much so that I was hooked from pretty early on, in my watch.

Would have been much better as a shorter series, I think, but at least Show manages to stick the landing in a way that feels worthwhile and meaningful.

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Review: A Journey To Love [China]

THE SHORT VERDICT:

On the upside, when Show is good, it is breathtakingly cracktastic, with a fantastic OTP anchoring our story, and that OTP relationship wonderfully teased out with excellently written conversations, that make it easy to understand why these two people belong together. 😍

On the downside, when Show isn’t at its best, it can be ungainly in its plotting and characterization, and even whiplashy, sometimes. Plus, there’s that infamous ending in the mix as well. 🙈

That said, I do think that Show’s strengths outweigh its missteps, and is a worthwhile watch.

Also, I have an alternative endpoint to suggest, if you’d like to watch this, but want to avoid the ending. 😉

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