After reading an article on My Drama List, I was very intrigued about starting this 6 episode drama, but when I finally got around to it, I was not expecting something as creatively different than what I have even watched and was pleasantly surprised.

Even though the drama setting did seem very "Hollywood" and it looked like they were filming on a film set the whole time (I didn't truly believe they were filming in the locations they were in, but at some lot in Hollywood), it was oddly charming. Everyone seemed like they were playing a character, rather than actually being the character....but not in a bad way. It is hard to explain, but as a person who loves watching wildly different films with completely unique styles from the director, producer, and cinematographer, I found this drama to be extremely charming. The only way to describe it...is my relationship with the movie Hail Caesar! with George Clooney and Channing Tatum (the only actors I can remember on the spot.) The whole film seemed very Hollywood (given that it was shot almost entirely on a Hollywood film set and most actors were....actors) and all the actors came off like they were actors playing a stereotypical character. Did I believe the actors portrayal of their characters. No. Did I love the film anyways? Yes. The film knew what it was, and it played to it, and I think it paid off. Much like this drama, I didn't believe in the characters being their characters, but I think that the actors themselves were very charming and likable, and the plot was super intriguing and well done, that I didn't care. I was sucked in within the first few minutes of ep 1.
The funny thing though is that, I didn't realize Netflix had the option of watching the drama in Mandarin as it was filmed, or in a few other languages dubbed. So I watched the first episode in Mandarin, and the remaining episodes in English (British) so it became almost a comedy to me, and everyone was in Asia, yet everyone had British accents, talking in slang. It was cringy and funny, and I had a great time. But I did go back and watch a few of my favorite scenes in Mandarin to see how the compared.

I loved most of the characters. I loved how Li Lan was very spunky, independent, driven, and familial. She would sacrifice herself in order for her family to be healthy and happy. She was selfish, but not in a bad way...in a way where she made sure everyone was happy and thriving while being able to achieve her dream. Also, she knew that she was allowed to be selfish, and other people should be as well, but not when they are replacing their dreams with something that they knew didn't compare. Er Lang was by far my favorite character in this drama from the moment we met him under a piece of furniture because he was "exhausted from housework and decided to take a nap." He was super comedic and driven as well, even if he was a little bit of a butthead in the beginning. I still liked him. Everyone seemed so proper in this drama and it was nice seeing someone as quirky as Li Lan, but in a male role. It's funny though. I had no idea if this was supposed to be a romance drama, but from the moment Li Lan encountered Er Lang, I shipped the pair. Then we have Li Lan's childhood sweetheart Tian Bai. He wasn't a terrible person. If anything, he had to go through and overcome a lot of personal challenges in order to be the person he wants to be, and not the heir to the family after his cousin's death. He wasn't a dislike-able character and would always accompany Li Lan whenever she was in any kind of trouble, but he did have a lot of issues that he needed to figure out himself before leading Li Lan on. Like Li Lan went through a lot of hardship in this drama, but I think Tian Bai was the reason for so much heartbreak. That is why I liked Er Lang. Both men are amazing people - they used their different strengths to help Li Lan and her fate as a ghost bride, but where Tian Bai always accompanied her, Er Lang would take action and him and Li Lan would work together and take action.

I've read a few reviews before writing mine, as well as before I decided to watch this drama, and they all said they same thing. The actor who played Tian Ching, Li Lan's dead husband and ruler of the "Underworld" or the realm of judgement, was flat and didn't compare to the other actors, but it was ok, because everyone else's "imdb" page has rows of experience, while this was homeboy's first drama. Which is fair, but I think he did an amazing job portraying a spoiled heir who had been poisoned and seeking revenge from his killer. It was weird though, because there were some scenes where he was supposed to be this scary ghost who haunts Li Lan, but there were some "tender" moments between them in the underworld, where it seemed that he genuinely cared about her. For weird reasons, but nonetheless, he seemed like he wanted companionship in a world that scared him as well (and it helps if it was someone he cared about in the human world as kids.) I almost felt bad for his character every time we saw him "out of his normal role" and it was hard to fully lean on one side for him. He was a horrible person who did whatever he wanted in order to get what he wanted, but he did seem to have some kind of heart. Even if it was a little one, he had one. If anything, I think his mother was the true villain in this drama, and I wasn't satisfied with her ending. It was almost like she was playing the victim, even though she was the one stirring the pot. She was allowing her son to act a certain way, making him feel like it was okay his entire life, and she had the audacity to act like she was a victim. That he must have been born the devil and even though she didn't help the cause, he was always going to end up that way regardless.

Which is why I am hoping for a season two. The ending of Volume 1 tied up nicely, but it was also open ended where they could and honestly should write for a second season. Maybe...we would get to see Tian Ching become a better person, helping Li Lan with another "life altering" situation because if there is a season two, we will 100% be going back to the underworld, even if not at first.

I 100% recommend this drama to someone who is looking for something completely different from the average romance drama. This drama also has elements of a budding romance, but it is about learning what love is and what kind of love you desire to have for the rest of your life. There isn't one road and love isn't just one thing. Everyone expresses love in a different way and sometimes the love you've always thought you wanted, isn't what you want now. Not that one person's way of love is better than the other, but sometimes you have figure out what love means to you and to find someone who will compliment that.