disappointed

I was actually so hyped about this drama because everyone kept talking about it. So I thought this one would be definitely something special. Oh how wrong I was...

The storyline could be actually really interesting. An lawyer who worked for the Italian mafia flees back to Korea and after some incidents he starts to work with another lawyer to win a case against a conglomerate called Babel Group. Sounds pretty good, right? However, they somehow managed to make it a little bit draggy and illogical. Starting with the most annoying thing, the reveal of the villain. I mean yeah, every villain has to be revealed, but here they just made it too soon. I was pretty shocked but after knowing who the real villain was, the whole story started to repeat itself. It was always the fight between the bad ones and the good ones. Then there was one thing I asked myself so often: Where the hell was the government? Like excuse me but it was a drama revolving around law and rights, but the only lawyers, prosecutors,... were people from the firm which was working with the Babel Group and the main leads. Even the police worked with the Babel Group and were shown very incompetent in the drama. Argh, a lot of things just didn't make any sense. Last thing which got really on my nerves was the lack of romance between the main leads. The chemistry was there, I can't deny it, but the poor writing just made the love story between them look so unrealistic. And before I forget, 20 episodes were way too long, I think only 16 would have been better. This drama is full of wasted potential. They could have do something really special out of it.

To the characters... there are a lot. It's not a Penthouse-like drama where all the characters have their own story and are interesting to the viewers because they have to do something with the main plot. No, many of the characters were unnecessary. Especially the people who lived in the plaza resident. There were to many and all of them had exaggerated and/or unrealistic characters. There were also some "bad" guys who wanted the plaza resident acting always really weird. It felt like they've been just there to make things funnier. Then many lawyers, policemen or prosecutors seemed like they hadn't more then three brain cells. Seriously, so many stupid characters were involved in the main plot. The only person who showed how capable he was, was the villain. Omg, I never saw such a villain before. He was such a psychopath and it suited such a drama perfectly! The actor nailed this role. Sadly the drama tried to make things funnier (and I'm not gonna lie some scenes were really funny) but because of this overused comedy the story seemed too unrealistic. The main characters were also wasted potential, especially the main male lead. VC (male lead) is a lawyer who worked for the MAFIA but I never really felt like he was someone dangerous. At the beginning his character was shown as some ruthless guy who flees to his homeland, but later this feeling just disappeared. HCY (female lead) had a pretty interesting character, I don't think I ever saw someone like her, she was a real crackhead. Sometimes it was just too much where the secondhand embarrassment slowly started to show itself, but overall her character was really interesting to watch.

The music wasn't something special for me. I can't even remember the soundtracks.

Overall, the drama was okay. I actually started it because I wanted to watch something more serious, but laughed mostly at the ridiculous scenes. I wouldn't rewatch this drama again, it just didn't left an good impression on me like other dramas.

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one of the most amazing historical dramas out there

Oh how long it’s been since we got this kind of dramas back. I was sick of the historical rom-coms China gave us in the last two to three years. Unrealistic, boring and missing literally everything we actually watched historical dramas for.
I really missed the heart wrenching feeling I get while watching these kind of dramas.
With Love Like The Galaxy we finally got what we wanted for a very long time. The amazing storyline had its depth, the characters were beautifully written and don’t get me even started about the romance of the main leads. *chef’s kiss*
After being obsessed with The Long Ballad I was shocked when I saw both Zhao Lusi and Leo Wu to be in this drama together AS MAIN LEADS. Never thought my impossible feeling ship had finally sailed.
Lusi and Leo did an incredible job here. Their characters were fabulous. I loved how loving and caring Ling Buyi was, how deeply in love he was with Cheng Shaoshang, the girl who slowly gets to be one of my favorite female leads of all time. Their characters were so different from each other, him being a ruthless general and her being a unloved child of parents who went to war for their country. The Cheng family had their own faults and mistakes, but that made them even more realistic. Their actions made sense and I often could understand why they acted like this. The same goes to the other characters. Props to the writers of this drama, we finally got a little bit away from the all-time used cliches in historical dramas. I laughed with the emperor, felt sad about the empress, was proud because of the concubine and had a love-hate relationship with most of the other characters.
The storyline had an amazing flow. Politics, history and romance were mixed together with the right amount of each. The political situation in the empire made sense and because of that the whole plot was better to understand. Even not being historically accurate, the drama still had a lot of elements of the conflicts in the past which made the drama more interesting, knowing that some of these events even happened in real life. Same can’t be said about the main couple (obviously lmao) which just reached all of my expectations. Their story developed VERY slow but it was worth it. I’m not a big fan of non-enemies-to-lovers slow burn but this one here… this one was fantastic. I loved this couple. Their chemistry was just something else. Zhao Lusi is an actress I always shipped with literally every other male actor lol. But her playing Shaoshang as the love interest of Buyi made me just swoon all the time. They were so sweet together. Such mature characters who were played by amazing actors.
The soundtracks fit this drama very well. Especially the OST at the beginning will probably have me feel really nostalgic while watching this drama again.
This means that I will rewatch the drama of course. I even started with some of the most unforgettable scenes right after finishing the drama yesterday (don’t get me even started on the arrow scene and the punishment scene omfg).
This will probably be one of my favs I will just rewatch anytime I have free time when there’s no other drama to watch. :D

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One of my favorites..

I really don't know what happened but I suddenly had the urge to watch this drama again. Now, with mixed emotions, I'll try to write a review, so here we go!

Let's start with the story. The drama is one of the older ones, we would call it a classic drama. Evil characters, many plottwists and the typical main leads were what we got. Very cliche, but still, this drama had something special. The storyline wasn't extraordinary and the turn of events were nothing new, so what made us actually love it so much?

For me it was the chemistry between the leads. I mean seriously, I still can't get over PSH and LW as partners. Loved them so much together... PSH was 16 when she filmed this. ONLY 16!! I don't care what everyone else says, this woman has talent and it shows. Her potraying HN was perfect. LW as YS did also a very good job. Especially at the beginning of the drama. Wish he would have more dramas where he is the main lead.

The OST was very good and fitted this type of drama.

Like I said before, I rewatched this drama. So yeah, for me the rewatch value is very high. I'll probably watch it again when I need to cry a little bit haha.

If you are asking yourself whether to watch this drama or not, I would tell you to go and watch it now! You should not miss this one out. But don't forget, this drama is a tragedy. Not everyone will like the ending...

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bittersweet

Oh dear... watching this drama was like a roller coaster of emotions. Actually I really do hate sad endings like this one, but in my opinion it would just get worse if they would have a happy ending.

Let’s start with the story. This one was an excellent tragedy. Weird to say it like that, but I actually really liked it. Revenge and love are two things that should never be mixed, but the main character wanted both. That’s where everything starts. The summary here doesn’t even give information about what happens in the first 15 episodes, so it confused me a little bit when they brought up the marriage thing between them. Their marriage in Dan Chi, Gu Xiao Wu’s/Li Cheng Yin’s plan to get revenge and the river of forgetting weren’t even mentioned, although they’re the most important plots in the whole story. The marriage in Li comes after. Little bit confusing, but it’s easy to understand when you watch the first episodes.

The characters were interesting. They had depth and that was important to me. Cheng Yin is a cold blooded and manipulative person, but at the same time he could also be sweet and nice. A very dangerous and complicated character in my eyes. I really felt for Xiao Feng, she suffered so much. Losing her family, being betrayed by the love of her life, forgetting everything and marrying someone from another county, then remembering everything and just finding a solution by killing herself. That’s her, at the beginning a happy, carefree 15-year-old who turned lifeless and depressed very fast. She didn’t deserve what she got.
The other characters also fit in, nobody but this Sese girl was unnecessary. I didn’t really understood why she was even a love interest, they didn’t need to add her character, even if she wasn’t as annoying as some other concubines.

The OSTs are perfect, really like the main OST and still listening to it.

Overall, the drama is heart wrenching, you will probably shed many tears but it’s still worth it. Even I as a tragedy-hater loved this drama, pretty sure I’m gonna rewatch some of the episodes.

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a must-watch

I watched all seasons of this drama. And let me tell you, I'm OBSESSED with it. Seriously, there wasn't any drama that got me hooked from the beginning like The Penthouse did.

First of all, the story. You will never ever find a drama like this one. The storyline is just so unique. Most of the time when we watch something, we know what will happen next because we are used to these kind of plottwists. But the writers did so many crazy things with this drama, I can still remember how shocked I always was because of what was happening right now. I can't summarize the events of this drama, it's impossible. So many things happened. Looking back at how the drama started, it changed so much. The Penthouse begun with the death of MSA and the revenge of her mother SSR. It's still a revenge drama but the storyline changed drastically when all the new characters were added later. Even when the drama got a bit messy in season three (I mean we all were pretty shocked when they confirmed that the drama would have more episodes haha), it's still a masterpiece. Not everything makes sense (especially the 'come-backs' of some characters lol) and some things were really exaggerated, but it suited this drama. I never lost the feeling I had in season one and that's the most important thing for me.

Now let's look at the characters. There are too many to focus on, that's why I'll rather do a summary of them. Funny how this drama doesn't really have leads. Yeah I know, OYH, SSR and CSJ are officially the main leads, but for me there are so many more. Especially our main villain JDT is one of the most important characters. Without him the drama wouldn't even make any sense. Sometimes the kids weren't shown that often, but still, they're also very important characters with each of them having their own storyline and relationships. I could never image The Penthouse without the Hera kids. Even the side characters were really important, so long story short, everyone in this drama was needed. Some characters had their character development, but most of them didn't really change. Understandable, in a drama like this the villains must stay as villains or the whole storyline wouldn't make any sense. Forgiving murders for example is a no-go. Love how the writers didn't change the villains, because if they would, the drama would be really really ridiculous.

(Before y'all come at me, yeah I know most of the characters and the plots are unrealistic and sometimes a bit too much, but for a drama like this I personally never expected the opposite.)

The acting was superb. There were sooo many good actors who did a great job potraying these kind of characters because this isn't easy at all. Sometimes there was a little bit overacting, but overall it was brilliant. Wishing all of them the best and hoping to see more from these actors, especially from the Hera kids.

The music was the highlight of this drama. The dramatic opera music was perfect! I don' think I ever saw a drama where all of the soundtracks were literally masterpieces. The music choice was fantastic.

Rewatching this drama would be exhausting. But I'll probably still do it haha. I really like this genre and this drama is really one of the best out there in dramaland. I loved it from the beginning till the end. I'm pretty sure The Penthouse will be one of those iconic dramas fans will never forget.

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if you need something cute and fluffy

I actually don't really like to watch dramas where one of the main leads have children because most of the time the storyline gets really messy. But this one was kinda cute, so I managed to watch the drama till the end.

The plot is about a rational and perfectionistic CEO and a soft and optimistic child psychologist. Our main lead has also a son (and omg I never saw such an adorable child, he alone made it so enjoyable to watch the drama) who doesn't talk and can't really socialize with other people. But shortly after meeting the female lead, he starts to like her and takes her in as his own mother.

The interactions between the leads were cute and hilarious, but I also found some of the disagreements really unnecessary and childish. Still, this is one of these dramas you can go an watch when you need something really fluffy.

The actors were enjoyable. This here wasn't some extraordinary drama were the characters would make your blood boil for example (evil side characters are a must have of course, but here they weren’t even that bad), so I'm pretty sure the actors are more diverse, but for this one I only can say that the acting seemed realistic and watchable. Thank god the female lead didn't try hard to be "cute" because I really can't stand it anymore when I see an adult acting like a child. To be honest, I really liked her, she always had a natural look on her face. The main lead also had something charming, definitely gonna watch more of him.

The soundtracks weren't something special, I can only remember the one at the beginning a little bit, that's it. But it suited the drama.

I can't say more to this drama, it wasn't something I could talk about for hours. It's just a fluffy drama in which we all know how it ends. Some side characters really got on my nerves, but the drama was still enjoyable. Not something I would be excited to watch, but more like something I would watch when I can't find another drama or when I'm bored. I can recommend this to the ones who love to watch cute rom-coms.

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hidden gem

Starting with the storyline, it has a really unique one. I never saw a drama with this kind of story. I would give it a solid 10 if the story would have focused more on what happened five years ago. Like seriously, I need another drama with this kind of plot. The flashbacks showed how interesting the story could be. But the current storyline was still very good, not draggy or boring. The drama having only 16 episodes shocked me at first, cdramas actally have much more episodes. But I liked it that way, without having 60 episodes, the drama didn't have any unnecessary scenes.

The acting was great. Many new faces were in the drama and they did all a great job, especially the main male lead. He potrayed the cold and possessive character very well. I liked the female lead too. Her character wasn't as annoying as some other female leads and the actress played her role very well. Thank god there weren't any cringe scenes. Hope the cast will get more roles in the future, all of them did very well.

The music wasn't something extraordinary, but at the same time I didn't notice anything weird about it, so the music was okay for me. It suited the drama.

Am I gonna rewatch this one? Probably not, but sometimes I think about dramas I watched a long time ago and suddenly I have to rewatch these kind of dramas again. So yeah, this drama could be one of those.

Overall, I really liked it. (Could also explain why I binge-watched it in two day lol.) As someone who is tired of the almost same plot in every drama, this one was really refreshing.

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Just wow

The Penthouse is seriously one of the best dramas I ever watched.
(I watched it last year, but really wanted to write a review so here it is!)
New k-dramas aren’t appealing for me like they were before, but still, I would die for makjang dramas. This one has so many things in it, plottwists, complicated characters and of course a very interesting story to tell.

You will probably hate 90% of the characters and want to jump into the drama, just to fight with them. Still, the characters will definitely not be a reason to drop the drama, cause they’re really interesting, you will automatically want to know what actually happened and will happen to them.

The story has many little stories in it and some plottwists which are really not predictable. Many dramas have this predictable plottwists which are all the same, but this one really shocked me sometimes. (I also finished watching season 2 and there it is the same, I’m so excited for season 3 hehe)

The OSTs are perfect for this drama. The plot also revolves around opera, so the over-dramatic classical music really fits in. Also liked the opera singers and songs.

My overall review for this drama would be to say that you should watch this drama asap if you didn’t do it yet. If you’re searching for suspense, drama, revenge, hatred and a little bit of family life and romance, this one is for you.(:

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favorite xianxia

There was a time where I was so obsessed with this drama, I read the whole novel (finding the translated version was like finding a needle in a haystack but I still managed to find it after searching for days haha) and in addition to that I read manyyyy fan fictions.

Did I also watch the sequel just to see if the main leads had a mini role in it?

Probably.

But yeah, let's not talk about this awkward phase I was going trough. I need to start with the review. And if I'm going to be able to explain the whole story (more or less), then I'm gonna raise a toast to myself. Let's try. But this drama is kinda complicated because it's a xianxia.

So many things happened. But to make it short, I'll only refer to the lives of the main leads. Yeah "lives" because they had more then one. To be exact, they had three. And all of them played a very important role in the drama. Starting with the first life, our main male lead wasn't even born yet. Just for you to know, there is a 90.000 year difference between the female and the male lead. But nobody really cares about it so we just pretend there isn't this big age gap. Funny how the male lead was still the dominant and more responsible figure in the relationship, but more to that later. So the female lead became a disciple of a guy called Mo Yuan, who's also the twin of our male lead, but the male lead was in a lotus flower the whole time. (I know, xianxia dramas are kinda weird.) Because only males were allowed to be one of this disciples, she disguised herself as one. But MY knew this. And he did not kick her out. Till today I'm pretty sure he had feelings for her, I don't care what everyone else says. For me, that wasn't a master-student relationship.

But let me tell you something, the first episodes I really thought MY was the male lead and was really confused, then the second male lead showed up and because of that I thought he was the main lead and was even more confused. They didn't even bother to show us who the main lead was till episode 11 if I don't remember wrong.

Our female lead is actually a deity who then fought with a monster (I don't remember what it exactly was but that's not important.) and because of this fight she 'fell down' to earth and lost all her powers and memories. This is where the second life (my favorite one hehe) starts. BQ (female lead) started to live as a human without a name or anything. The male lead was finally born as the crown prince of the heavenly realm and of course had this cold attitude literally every male lead has. One day, he went to earth and then got injured, that's why he had to stay in his snake form, so he could recover. BQ loved to treat animals and then saw the little snake. And because she's such a kind-hearted and lovely person, she just took that snake to her house, without knowing it it's even poisonous. Yeah, we love our female leads.

While she was starting to treat him, he started to fell in love with her. When he fully recovered, he didn't return but changed into his human form at night so he could sleep next to the female lead. Don't get me wrong, I know that sounds creepy, but he really didn't do anything but just lay down to watch her sleeping. Okay, that sounds even more creepy. Even I can't defend him anymore... I'm really sorry, but he's still one of my favorite male leads haha.

Let's keep going, he then wanted to know her as a 'human' and disguised himself as an injured warrior, who apparently needed her help. Long story short, they fell in love, she got pregnant and our male lead suddenly remembered who he actually was. Leaving her alone for a very long time, he went to the heavenly realm. But he couldn't bare to let her on earth forever, that's why he just took her with him. A human woman. Pregnant with his child. He's the crown prince and there's another woman who tries everything to win his heart. So we all know what happens next, second female lead is just an evil being who tries everything to get rid of BQ. And she actually really get rid of her by making it look like BQ was the reason she lost her eyes. YH (male lead) believed the second female lead and took the eyes from the female lead, so she got blind. Feeling betrayed she first gave birth and then jumped from where the second female lead lost her eyes. Everyone in the heavenly realm thought she was a human, so they assumed that she was dead. But she wasn't of course, as a deity you can't die from there. BQ woke up in her true form and remembered everything, including the betrayal of the male lead. She wanted to forget everything and drank an elixir erasing all her memories. And here's where the third life starts. I'm not gonna summarize this life because it would take me way too long. And it's also my least favorite life from all of them. There's also a second couple who had a lot of scenes, but they even got an own drama, so I'm just focusing on the main leads.

Talking about the characters, they were sometimes really annoying. Especially the female lead in the third life. But one thing got really on my nerves: the mother-son bond.

Oh wait, there wasn't even one.

I'm sorry but I never saw such an awful mother in any drama. These writers really just make it seem like everything was based on romance. THEY HAD A FREAKIN CHILD. Argh, it annoyed me so much. Poor AL, never got the love of his mother which he actually deserved. I'm glad YH was a good father, or I would probably really go crazy.

And then people still be asking why I only liked the second life. First one didn't even show the main lead but made it look like it was a MY-BQ-LJ (second lead) love triangle and last one completely failed for me after making the female lead such an irresponsible person. At least her character was okay, some people would even say she was a 'badass'. Not gonna lie, I loved how she took revenge after regaining her memory.

But like I said before, this drama is one of my favorites. With its flaws. As the most watched drama in China with over 50 billion views, it really is something special. I rewatched it (especially the second life) so many times and never got bored, even when the female lead was such an annoying mother. And don't forget, there's so much more happening in the drama, I only talked about the romantic relationship about the leads and this review is my longest one now.

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