At first I was confused by why this didn’t receive a lot of attention and praise, but afterwards I kinda understand. I adored this drama. It’s absolutely wonderful. However it’s not a very traditional drama, so I can understand if you come into this drama expecting one thing and getting something else it would be disappointing and not meet expectations. I went into it pretty ignorant of what's going on, and I think I ended up liking a lot of the narrative choices more than others. Overall it’s really well done. Acting and plot are engaging without being overbearing. It’s the story of a family that will do anything for each other, and the consequences thereof, in a very turbulent time in Chinese history.

Plot:
It starts in media res. Which some don’t like, but I think it sets a very good framework for the story. Even if I was really confused in the beginning (I actually rewatched the first 4 episodes to take screenshots and make sure I understood what was happening), it does a good job of illustrating that this is a turning point in history and that what is about to unfold is that turning point. I don’t care how we got there. It doesn’t actually matter. If it started earlier in the story people would probably complain about how it didn’t get to the point till way later.

Do I care how LianKai and QinSang got together? No. It doesn’t matter. All we need to know is that they’re married and that there’s not a whole lot of love in that relationship to start. I admit, LianKai has a very physical way of “showing affection,” but it’s not unusual to anything we’ve ever seen in other dramas before. It’s just surprising cause most of the drama doesn’t carry that tone. Their love isn’t the primary driving vehicle of the story, so when their relationship stops being quite as sizzling (ie physical) people are disappointed. But I feel that their relationship was always like that. They are supporting and caring for the other, even if they didn’t necessarily like the other person. It’s not passionate love. It’s the good and lasting kind. They are incredibly ride or die for each other, even when they don’t even like each other very much, and that’s so much fun to see.

Plus, this drama is NOT about LianKai and QinSang’s relationship. It’s about the Yi family and these absolutely fantastic brothers that will do everything and anything for each other. They are beautifully supportive of each other from start to finish. The occasional fights get resolved quickly and we’re constantly reminded of their love for each other. In a time where I expect that brothers being seen in a drama at close age are gonna be vicious romantic and power rivals, this was a breath of fresh air. You’re constantly cheering for the Yi brothers and their relationship, even when everyone around them is determined to put them against each other.

The story also very clearly sets up that it’s not about the rise of something but the fall of something. This is the fall of the house of Yi. What’s next after this historically? Communism. Pan JianChi is clearly representing some sort of early communist mindset and the Yi family is the horrible previous regime. Did I find some of the military and politics stuff confusing at times? Definitely. But for the most part I still followed it well. I couldn’t do ANYTHING ELSE when I was watching this drama because if I looked away for one second something was being told and I’d be hella confused as to what was happening. Contrary to other reviews, I thought this was some VERY TIGHT writing for a military and politics drama. I could easily see it be broken up into 3 or 4 seasons like a western TV show, and I personally really liked that. There are nice cycles of what is happening and it resolves conflicts quickly and thoroughly before moving on to other conflicts. It reminds me of a high quality nordic crime noir (in that it's all about the talking over the action), or an FX show (The Americans comes to mind in it's relationship of supportive circumstance) in pacing and tone. I love that kind of thing, but it is definitely not for everyone.

Acting:
Superb all around from the smallest to the biggest characters. Everyone played their part really well, even if I wasn’t a fan of some of the characters. YanYun is definitely the most annoying and classically “drama” character of the bunch, but even she managed to be tampered at times. My one complaint is that some of the voice acting wasn’t quite as strong. The voice actor for Elvis Han (who does a fantastic job in this role and casting him was a fantastic decision) is clearly a bit older than he is, or his voice is significantly lower than his, and that does break the realism of the story sometimes. YanYun is also not the best voice actor, but her kinda annoying higher pitch does match the rather annoying traits of the character herself. I love Elvis Han and have seen a couple of his other works before (WuXin and CP5), and I was very pleased with his performance here as well. I'm a big fan of his, and he fits this period and role very well. Zhou Ting Wei I also have seen before (Ashes of Love) and he does a great job as the brother who never quite knows how he stands in the family and in love.

Costume Design & Sets:
These costumes. Holy hells these costumes. I restarted it after 4 episodes not because I couldn’t understand, but because I wanted to take screenshots of all these costumes. LianKai is by far the best dressed brother of the bunch (befitting his status as the wild partying one), but they’re all so superbly outfitted. This is a period which I enjoy watching, cause the juxtaposition of old and new is so interesting and fun to see, and the costume design does a great job with this. Embroidered suits. They gorgeous. The sets were mostly really well done, although some of the outside facades were questionable.

Music:
I wasn’t in love with the OST. I think I just enjoyed it at the end from sheer exposure. But it wasn’t so bad that I wanted to complain about it. Subtle and mostly understated music, which I appreciate.

Rewatch Value:
I’d totally rewatch this. Partly because not everything is very clear, so it would be interesting to rewatch knowing what I know and having a better understanding of the playing field. Not that I wanted it in the setup of the drama. Just that I was lazy and didn’t necessarily care to keep track of who was who in the beginning when I probably should have. But mostly I’d rewatch it because it was an enjoyable story that was well executed. I’d love to come back to these characters and this family and experience their trials all over again. Yes, it’s a lot of talking. It’s mostly talking about what is happening, but as a military strategy drama that makes sense and I’d much rather hear about most of these battles than watch them.

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I would love to say that this version is very on par with the Taiwanese and Japanese versions, which were both equally well done for different reasons. Each version sheds a little more light into the characters and I love each one for different reasons (except for the Korean version, but we're not talking about that right now). While I can certainly enjoy it as a drama, there are things about this version that made it really hard for me to connect to it.

Unfortunately, Kiss Me decided on some major structural changes to the story that I'm really not pleased with. This adaptation is definitely the most loose with the story in comparison to the others, but there are certain things that happen in their lives sooner in this version than in the other versions that are a major detriment to the story. Most of this is around TenTen's decision to become a doctor and how they go about that journey. It's radically different from the source material, and unfortunately I think it really messes with the potential story of any potential season 2.

Season 2 is consistently my favorite part of their story, as I enjoy this story so much more because you get to see their lives and how they go through the challenges of their marriage. That is a much more interesting story for me, and the structural changes that they've made to their respective careers are going to have a major impact on how they can even tell the story of their marriage. Almost to the point that I don't even think they will do it. Which really drops this version's value in my eyes.

But what really hurt it the most for me is what another review by babysmurf highlighted really well: why their relationship even exists. Both of them actually need each other to be the best versions of themselves.

For Irie, she straight up gives him a reason for living and getting up each morning to go to work and do what he does. This version doesn't even touch the depression that he goes through when he legit can't figure out what to do with his life and the strain of the expectations his family has on him. Kotoko can give him that clarity of direction and sees him as the best version of himself to give him that guidance. Furthermore, she gives him that connection with others to make him a more empathetic person. Most criticize the story because Irie is too cold, but if he's not cold then you don't really see the changes that Kotoko has made to him and his character. Here he's just a guy that's in love with a girl, but is really really bad at showing it and understanding his feelings. Dude, if that's the case she really should have ended up with King, because he has a hell of a lot more going for him.

For Kotoko, his honest belief that she can do better than she expects of herself makes her a better person and gives her the direction in life that she has. This version touched on this, but not incredibly well. Admittedly this is something that neither the TW or the J versions did very well either, but this version was horrible. He sets that bar high for her, and she has the determination to reach every goal he sets for her. He is proud of her, but this version didn't show that in the slightest and that was a super bummer for me.

Now the good:

I really have to look at this outside of the other versions and kinda outside the source material to understand enjoying it. When I do, it's really a great story. Very much your standard drama, with a few additions (a decent side couple for one) that make it a fun story. I thought the story (as a standalone and without a potential Season 2) was really well thought out and I think some of the changes they made make it a lot easier for people to enjoy these characters. He's cold, but not too cold. Man does he have a melted golden center of goo for Taliw in this version. I adored that they were "fated from childhood" to be together. I thought that was a really great addition to the story. Taliw isn't the brightest in the room, but clearly more average and has a great group of friends around her.

King is fantastic. I think the decision to make him a cuter looking character has a lot to do with this. As the macho friend who loves her and fawns over her it can be hard to believe in his love and it comes off as very comical and artificial. But King is a great character by being much more cute and average, and his wide eyes of happiness any time Taliw shows her happiness toward him definitely sell that even more.

I also loved the bond that Taliw and the little brother had in this version. It's a refreshing change to the strong disdain he has of her in the other versions. It was kinda fun to see him also rooting for Taliw, even though it meant the brother bonding scenes weren't as strong where Irie would make a discovery about why he loves Kotoko through his chats with his brother.

The OST was great. I loved most of the songs and am happy to add them to my OST Playlist.

Mike and Aom were great, have great chemistry, and I look forward to seeing them in Full House. The rest of the cast was also pretty strong, with King being the most notable strong point. I enjoyed this side couple a lot over the traditional version of this side couple. P'Dan was awesome and I really want to see him in other things now.

Rewatch value: Nope. Much of what I love about this story is totally gone from this version, so while it is cute I don't really want to turn around and watch it again to see if I can catch the things that I might have missed or rewatch those moments of discovery. Them realizing they can be more than what they are through each other is really my favorite part. Since that's not present I don't feel the need to watch this version over again.

The only thing that could make it better I would have to see in Season 2. But again, even though it's been announced the story changes they made make me think that I'm probably going to be even more angry with that version of Season 2 than I am with the changes they made to Season 1. And that they probably shouldn't have one.

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Very solid beginning, even though the American actors they hired were horrible. As long as you can get past that you are on fairly solid footing. I enjoyed it at the beginning, and thought the meet-cute was well done. And then the second half of the show happened and you wonder why the hell you are watching this. Nothing in the story makes sense, and you can see that they really faltered in how to actually move the story forward once Kim Tan was back in Korea and his relationship with Cha Eun Sang starts to actually move forward beyond creepy stalking.

So let me tell you why this drama IS worth your time: THE. SUPPORTING. CAST. Basically everyone but the lead couple make you drawn into what's going on and they all do an amazing job with the measly little scraps they are given. I really wanted to know more of all of their stories, and infinitely less of the lead couple. They were cardboard and a waste of life. Why do people love Lee Min Ho again? I can't for the life of me figure this out. Park Shin Hye is right there with him. Why do people love her? I'm so confused.

I was irrationally invested in Young Do and Rachel's brother-sister relationship for the abysmal screen time they got together. I needed them to be together and awesome close friend-siblings forever, because every time they were together was amazing and so funny. They had that warring "I can't stand your face but I still have to love you so I do" thing that siblings have and did it so well. Bo Na and Chan Young were also my favorite thing in the universe. So sickeningly adorable and stole the show from anyone else that was in the scene with them individually or as a couple. Also, thanks CNBlue for giving me another human I irrationally love. I already LOVE Krystal, but Kang Min Hyuk was new to me and now I have another kpop star that I need to quit that life so he can be in dramas all the time. I wanted a better ending for Kim Won, but we can't have everything. I mostly just wanted a reason to be invested in him enough to be invested in his ending. Now there's a character who got the short end of the stick. If the lead couple's screen time had been cut in half and the story had been distributed evenly among the rest of the characters it probably would have been a much better show.

I'm also very convinced that the ending would have been better if it was a Taiwanese drama. But then I wouldn't have Krystal or KWB, so maybe not. That ending is a disaster though.

And OMG that song. Way to be heavy handed with the OST. I love Taiwanese dramas irrationally, so you must be really aggressive with the soundtrack for me to not like you. Plus in general it's horrible song, and if I never hear that song again it will be too soon.

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Story: It was fine. I had a really hard time starting it, and actually put it down two or three times before really watching it. That should have been a warning that something was going to be up. The start is pretty challenging just to get over the premise and how skeevy the characters are. But it found the groove pretty quickly and I started to really enjoy it. The turning point actually brought about the downfall of the show, since the writer couldn't quite figure out how to keep the tension in the story once everyone knows everything. Which meant the ending had all of the filler flashback montages, and was just a tragedy.

Characters/Acting: I will eventually like Hwang Jung Eum's acting. I will. I keep watching things she's in and I want to like her (I think she has a great look), but I am not a fan of the flamboyant over-acting I keep associating with her. It definitely fits the characters she's playing, but I wish was a little bit less funny faces and shouting. Mostly the shouting. Her character was fun and lively, and I really appreciated how positive her character was. Park Seo Joon was great as always, and my only complaint was that I actually liked his hair more in Kill Me, Heal Me (and I can't stand the parted hair in the middle). His character was annoyingly hot/cold in the beginning, and I appreciated how he mellowed out as the story progressed. Now about Si Won... oh Si Won how I wanted to love you. I actually kinda did, but there was something very annoying about his character as second lead I had a hard time getting behind. Maybe he was just a little bit too silly, or a little bit too tough on Kim Hye Jin, but I was sadly not pro Si Won. Which is a tragedy. We should always be behind Si Won. The BFF was good, and I definitely didn't hate her. I was actually really sympathetic to her and the position she'd been put in. Special shout out to Jung Da Bin, who is becoming my favorite child actor ever. I look forward to more from her.

Overall: Again, it was fine. I'm not saying don't watch it, but if you've got something else on your list I'd go with that first. Like every time. If you're in it for the leads, watch Kill Me, Heal Me instead. The camaraderie is much better, and it has Ji Sung.

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Psychologically accurate in any way? No. Just don't. Treat it like a medical drama: all of it is made up with a tiny grain of truth so just pretend it doesn't exist. This is especially true of the primary psychological study going on, which is riddled with so many problems I can't and won't even begin to mention them all.

IDK why this keeps happening to me, but you're watching this for the secondary couples. They're cute and adorable and way more realistic than the nonsense going on between Go Hye Rim and Choi Soo Hyun. I now want them in all the things in ways I didn't know I needed.

I lay the blame in the failure of the main couple on the writing of Go Hye Rim. She starts off super awesome and you're definitely fighting for her despite all the obstacles Choi Soo Hyun is determined to throw her way. And then she turns into this simpering little girl experiencing love for the first time and it's so abrupt you're gonna get whiplash. Soo Hyun is much more maturely developed in his feelings, and it's fun to see the sneaky ways that Hye Rim gets under his skin and softens him up. He's still prickly by the end, but becomes more of an Irie Naoki type of character which you're much more willing to put up with than the straight jerkface that he is in the beginning.

One thing that absolutely drove me crazy is the total lack of Hye Rim's daughter in the storyline in the second half. There is a conflict involving her, it's resolved, and then we never hear from her again and it's so not okay. THAT'S HER DAUGHTER!! You don't just write off a person's daughter. Not okay.

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Loved it. Oh deep-v, I miss you in all your horribleness. Only complaint is that the end had a few episodes that dragged on pretty slowly and probably could have been cut to fit in the 20ish minutes of the last episode. And how Guang Xi has a tendency to bare his teeth like an apex predator to indicate his anger or frustration which is pretty funny.

Total classic I will always recommend. It's so beautiful and the cast is phenomenal. I'm about to rewatch it for the first time and I'm so excited. Despite being a total melodrama it is very grounded and stays very centered in reality, not as over the top as you would expect

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