I think the ending of Burnout Syndrome is the best ending they could have given us. It would have felt weird if they gave a proper happy ending, but this ending is more like an open ending.
Yes, Koh and Jira are back together, but nothing is said about if they will make it in the long run or not. One thing is sure, they share a deep bond made of all the needs they have for each other, their big differences of how they see life and the slight toxicity of their relationship that still make them crave each other. This ending lets you decide what is their future. They don't try to tell you what is right or wrong. I would also say that's the conclusion they reached also with art and capitalism. After all, Jira and Koh are the personification of these two different things and their relationship could be a symbol of how art is shaped under capitalism.
In my view, this is a really interesting story with imperfect characters. It lets you decide how you want to view it and that highlights some reflection of how art interacts with the market and reflects societal changes.
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I was catching up with a friend and we were chatting about our favorite movies and shows from 2026 so far and while I've been having a banger of a year movie-wise I think this year has been relatively weak tv-wise? Really hope April disappointments bring May awesomeness because ugh why does it feel like there is there nothing good good to watch? I'm enjoying Life in Smokey Blue but the episodes are short and the story is so low key that while lovely it doesn't consume me. Perfect Crown is watchable but I'm only watching for the women because the ML and SML are such flat characters on their own. (That said, Noh Sang-hyun looks very hot in this.)
Finished and enjoyed
Black Sails - Not an all time favorite because of how the fourth season was handled but still some of the best character and plot writing I've ever seen on tv. It absolutely deserves the praise its fans heap on it.
The Other Bennet Sister - If you're a Jane Austen purist don't bother because the characterizations aren't faithful to the original Pride and Prejudice but if you ever wondered what a Jdrama about awkward people finding themselves and falling in love would look like if made into a BBC miniseries this is a quick and charming watch.
Finished with mixed feelings
Boyfriend on Demand - I still don't understand why this was getting dragged on Twitter and Reddit because while it certainly has its issues it's not nearly as bad as what reviews were saying about it? At least it had some interesting things to say about how people's relationship with technology gets in the way of their real life relationships. 🤷🏻♀️
City of Shadows - As someone who loves the city of Barcelona the premise of a serial killer obsessed with Antoni Gaudí is so up my alley but it gets points deducted for being filmed like a soap opera.
Dropped
Pursuit of Jade - I'm still bummed about how this completely derailed after the midpoint because the first 20 episodes was probably the best Cdrama idol romance I have seen since 2023.
Veil of Shadows - Technically I didn't drop this because I did watch "everything" but if I wasn't hosting the Reddit discussions for it I would have dropped, and I definitely was hate watching by the last arc. Interesting and sophisticated on a conceptual level but the execution really burned through my good will towards Guo Jingming's style of storytelling.
Beef (S2) - This was so disappointing in comparison to how whip smart and poignant the first season was. Did we really need another show about a privileged white couple crashing out?
Sword into Plowshares - Looks prestige but took too long to establish the core of the story--felt more like a historical reenactment than drama.
How Dare You?! - The directing and writing failed to give the story a real sense of tension and stakes. Shame because FOR ONCE Wang Churan's acting didn't piss me off and I wanted to see how charming she can be when you cast her in the right type of role.
Siren's Kiss - The actors had decent chemistry but just like with Flower of Evil I had issues with how the creator balanced the romance and thriller storylines.
Can This Love Be Translated? - It's unfortunate this show had an identity crisis because some of the individual storylines were actually quite affecting. And yet another show where I did not care for the ML--I think that's the theme of 2026. Can we bring back compelling romantic leads? Thanks.
The Art of Sarah - Jing Boran's Regeneration did the mysterious conman with a twist storyline better.
Bridgerton (S3) - Independent of quality issues, I have finally made peace with the fact that this IP is just not for me.
Were so mediocre I can't even begin to describe why I dropped them:
Filing for Love
His and Hers
Sold Out on You
Something Very Bad is About to Happen
Never Forget Your Enemy
The Practical Guide to Love
Awakening the Steppe - the only thing I remember about this is how one of the MLs had Cheng Lei vibes
Paused
Empresses in the Palace - I will go back to this because I only paused when Veil of Shadows started but I will say it's a bit quieter than I had anticipated. Enjoyable but not something I wake up in the morning craving to watch.
The Great - this is sharp and witty and the leads are fantastic but I'm not emotionally invested.
Wishing Upon the Shooting Stars - I enjoyed the moodiness of the first episode but it's taking me longer to get into this show in comparison to other Ray Jiang shows.
Sammy's Children's Day - Now that it's almost finished is it worth a watch?
Climax - I am much more interested now that I know there are lesbians.
Human Specimens - Refreshing take on the "serial killer confesses and we go back in time to find out why" storyline but I think I need to be in the mood for it. The visuals remind me of NBC's Hannibal in a good way though.
Gimbap and Onigiri - The first few episodes were sweet. I should try again.
Ladies on Top - This show has no right to be as sweet and affirming as it is based on the premise but I wanted to wait for it to finish airing so I can binge.
Are there any good drops from 2026 that I missed? I still want to check out Margo's Got Money Troubles, Unchosen, We Are All Trying, Contrast, In Your Radiant Season, and Sins of Kujo.
Outside of xianxia of course because after the exhaustion of VoS I just don't have it in me.
on the snowy eve of a political uprising, dou zhao (meng ziyi), the marchioness wei, is killed by an arrow in a buddhist sanctuary. her crime? elopement and adultery with the empire's traitor, song mo (li yunrui). dying wronged and weakened from her years of domestic labour for her unfaithful husband, dou zhao wakes again from a dream in her child body with a mysterious playbook in her hand. this time round, she is determined not to lead the same life of suffering again.
returning to the dou manor, she battles against the strict patriarchal rules that try to confine her, fighting for a meaningful life of freedom and happiness where she is able to keep safe those whom she loves most.
l⃣e⃣ t⃣’ s⃣ b⃣e⃣g⃣i⃣n⃣
aww I had so much fun watching this drama, it's a lovely one. it's very well written, with beautiful lighting and beautiful cinematography- like genuinely. also. I'm such a sucker for good metaphors and motifs- I haven't seen a costume drama shot like this in quite a long time. the relationship and the chemistry between the two main leads song mo and dou zhao is so so charming and despite all the political killings and bloodshed, it may just end up to be one of my comfort dramas lol.
o⃣u⃣t⃣ o⃣ f⃣ t⃣ e⃣ n⃣
𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌 - 8/10
𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙 - 8/10
𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 - 7/10
𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 - 10/10
𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖 - 8.25/𝟙𝟘
o⃣u⃣t⃣ o⃣ f⃣ f⃣ i⃣v⃣ e⃣
𝖍𝖎𝖉𝖉𝖊𝖓 𝖌𝖊𝖒 𝖛𝖆𝖑𝖚𝖊 - 💎💎💎
[ besides from its really beautiful cinematography, it's a pretty standard but very well done idol costume drama. the writing is excellent, but the messages behind the drama are pretty normal, ideal in a kind of pride-and-prejudice way, where the characters aren't really challenging anything too scandalous for our modern senses. ]
𝖗𝖊𝖜𝖆𝖙𝖈𝖍 𝖛𝖆𝖑𝖚𝖊 - ✨✨ ✨ ✨
[ I personally love it. it's like a good hearty soup, very normal but warming. I will be rewatching at some point I think :,> I love them so much. ]
‘keep reading’ for detailed review
[note]
its been a year since I've watched this show so my senses are lagging a little bit! some parts of this review was written right after I'd finished the drama (ie, the above introduction and short summary above and the bonus section at the end). the individual rating explanations have been written just now.
this isn't the most accurate review but I thought I might as well get this out there especially with the director's (zeng qingjie) more recent drama, pursuit of jade (2026) airing right now. I really really love this director and watching pursuit of jade made me really miss the blossom era- so lets get into it ;>
𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙 - 8/10
a really strong plot and narrative in my opinion! in some places it does slip up in terms of the schemes and their logic, but none that were particularly offensive in my mind. the pacing was so so good and very well done, at no point was I bored and the two characters' storylines wove together very well. all in all, the writing was incredibly strong and streamlined. it was funny, it was suspenseful, it was faced paced, it was emotional- hells yes.
in the age old creative writing saying, if your introduction isn't worth reading, then there is no real point in reading the rest of it. blossom is perhaps one of my favourite cdrama examples of how the opening episode is enough to gauge the quality of the show as a whole. I can say with some confidence that this director has a really good understanding of theme and the use of visual motifs which was really well demonstrated immediately from the first episode. the opera motif had me GAGGED.
I also really loved the director's incorporation of buddhist spirituality and chinese literary traditions which gave the drama the air of it's fictional time frame (ming dynasty) and a lot of artistic weight in my very humble opinion. at multiple points the drama referenced the chinese classic xao xueqin's dream of the red chamber which I really appreciated and thought was really elegantly and effectively done.
one moment it really stood out to me was wei tingyu's reawakening (if you know you know) that gave me the chills. it really transformed the bawdy cliche of transmigration into a question of the metaphysical. it had me questioning the lines between dream and reality, life and afterlife- a pretty buddhist concern that had informed dream of the red chamber.
I feel like I could write a whole essay on it just because it was so well done but I think that might bore a lot of you so maybe at another point in time!
𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 - 7/10
overall, the struggles of being a woman within a restrictive ming dynasty society was handled very well. the supporting cast of female characters where all very well written with agency and strength which I really appreciate.
this director is PEAK female gaze. dou zhao and song mo will live in a very warm part of my heart. I loved the way they played off each other and the central ethos of "together we are strong, but apart we are just as strong", truly a writer for modern times. I think this central ideal has also translated into pursuit of jade and I'm honestly so happy to see stories and fictional women who are multi-faceted, steady and capable.
I can't quite remember why I'd initially given it a 7 out of 10 (lowest of all the other ratings), but I think it must have had some kind of problem with the use of cliches- I remember finding the evil stepmother character as one who very much lacked depth, as well as song mo's father's violent hatred towards him somewhat unjustified.
𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌 - 8/10
god the chemistry for this show was FIREEEE. never have I ever been so invested in a lead couple in my adult life as I was in dou zhao and song mo 😭😭😭 its honestly quite embarrassing. in general though, I don't really remember at any point questioning why an acting choice was made, except maybe towards the end of song han's arc.
𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 - 10/10
an incredibly beautiful drama with incredible production. the lighting, the costumes to the framing of the camera and the use of visual motifs, its an incredibly visually striking production unlike any idol costume dramas I'd seen before. zeng qingjie's soft yellow lighting is so beautiful, at this point it has become his signature. highly highly highly recommend.
.
𝖇𝖔𝖓𝖚𝖘!!
favourite characters
song mo ( his idealism speaks to me on some deep level, like my boy just wants a fair and just world, where good is supposed to triumph but in reality it doesn't really. like I feel his rage. I do get it. )
grandma ( og boss queen, advocate for women's education- honestly fuck the dou family institution )
grand princess ( damn I wish she played a bigger role because she was so interesting!! tell me about her rebelling against conventional feminine roles as a young woman! tell me about her role in the court! instead we got just that arc with dou sishu and ugh. I don't need to see more of that man )
oh, this drama was everything i could've ever asked for. thank you to the trailer that popped up on my feed, so very out of the blue! this drama is the most chaotic, wholesome, and yet absolutely unhinged and filled with the most cruel people ever—all while set in the most prettiest pastel scenes.
a story that is absolutely against the main leads right from the beginning. rigged so bad that the time they got to spend with each other was soo little, compared to the decades they spent yearning for the other. the ending... i knew this would happen lol, and they pretty much left it to our interpretation about their life in the modern era (pretty safe decision from the writers imo) but i do wish they gave us just one tiny teeny episode in the modern world as well. they have such good chemistry!!! might as well have had their modern era as well 🥺 (it's ok, I'll cope with all their promotional content 😭)
wang yinglu!!! maam, i love you. i had never seen anything of yours previously, but oh. i will never miss anything of yours from now on 🫡 her range is impeccable!! (as someone also watching twelve letters, i love this woman and her acting <3) liao tingyan will go down in history as that character. she was so me (she did have some more common sense tho) like my only aim in life is to get a job that let's me eat and sleep in peace (but ummm that looks more and more like a pipe dream 😃).
i do wish the scriptwriters hadn't done both our beloved characters so dirty tho 😭 like look at the bigger picture: yan went into an accident and then lived basically 40ish years in an unknown realm. she spent 18 years being manipulated and the next 19 years suffering from heartbreak and heartburn. and once she came back into reality—it was straight back to working under the most insane boss ever. sima jiao on the other hand?? haha, boy suffered 500 years, then searched for her for 18 years, and then became a mortal—probably the most dangerous mortal life ever, aka the emperor. and then, after all was said and done, his lover died in his arms, and he probably had to live out the rest of his life coping with the fact that she was gone forever 😃😭😭
now that i think about it, the only times they have been truly happy was with each other! so maybe now that they have met in reality they will be able to live out the happy and peaceful life they hadn't got in all three realms...
also special shoutout to the people who worked to make the sets soo prettyy!! they were all so stunning!! and the music!! oh this ost is going on loop in my playlists 🙂↕️
oh, and this is the first time I've ever started and finished the drama alongside the actual airing dates, so i guess this gets an award for that as well, hehe :))
Stranger Things is a modern television legend. Created by the Duffer Brothers, the series transports us to 1980s Hawkins, Indiana—a seemingly ordinary small town concealing extraordinary and dangerous secrets.
When a young boy vanishes without explanation, his friends refuse to accept the official version of events. Their search draws them into a web of clandestine government experiments, a mysterious girl with telekinetic powers, and a nightmarish parallel dimension known as the Upside Down. As monsters seep into the real world, the Hawkins kids—true outsiders in every sense—are forced to face horrors far beyond their years.
Blending sci-fi, horror, mystery, and deep emotional intimacy, Stranger Things is ultimately a story about friendship, loyalty, courage, and growing up. Its meticulous attention to detail, emotional sincerity, and nostalgic atmosphere made the show deeply personal for many viewers. Everyone could find something to hold on to—someone to relate to. It felt like a series made for outsiders, by outsiders.
That is why the finale felt so devastating. For me, it didn’t just disappoint—it felt fundamentally wrong, as if the story suddenly betrayed its own core. A show that consistently celebrated non-conformity, individuality, and resistance against imposed norms seemed to conclude by surrendering to exactly what it once opposed. The dissonance is so strong that it almost feels unreal.
It’s no surprise, then, that the fandom responded with astonishing creativity. The Stranger Things community is unlike anything I’ve seen before: the depth of analysis, the countless theories, the frame-by-frame examinations of scenes, symbolism, and dialogue are truly mind-blowing. Out of this collective intelligence emerged the so-called “conformity-gate” theory—the idea that the finale is not reality at all, but an illusion crafted by Vecna.
And honestly? I choose to believe it.
Perhaps we are told that at some point we must leave childhood behind, make room for a new generation, and accept change. But does growing up really mean conforming? I don’t think so. If this show was meant to be a refuge for those who never quite fit in, then it should have stayed true to that spirit until the very end. If there will never be another episode, then the ending remains open—to interpretation, to imagination, to refusal.
Still, I am grateful I got to experience this story. Stranger Things brought the spirit of Stephen King to life without ever adapting his work directly, capturing instead the essence of his worlds: childhood bonds under supernatural pressure, fear intertwined with love, and ordinary kids doing extraordinary things.
For me, it will always remain a story about friendship, bravery, loyalty, and unbreakable bonds—and about Mike Wheeler and Will Byers. And maybe that’s the point: the ending doesn’t belong to the screen anymore. It belongs to us.
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Okay, now that I have somewhat calmed down from my fury over the ending of Stranger Things, let's do some wrap-up thoughts.
Positives:
I loved the scene of Kali drawing a gun on Hopper, Hopper's speech to El (WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN DIRECTED AT KALI, AS IT APPLIED OT HER MORE) and Kali wavering because even though Hopper has been nothing but cruel to her, the hope he spoke of touched her.
Even though I wanted it to end very differently, I liked Kali's nod at Hopper--she was absolutely willing to die for her sister and that grim determination bonds her and Hopper.
Steve becoming a teacher and a baseball coach makes a lot of sense.
So does Nancy dropping out and becoming a reporter for the Herald.
While I'm still sad about the Jancy breakup, I was delighted to hear about Jonathan attending NYU--it was always my headcanon that he was scared to tell Nancy that NYU was his dream rather than Emerson. Boston and NYC are not that far apart either, so I think there's plenty of room for them to reunite when they're ready.
No Stancy ending. Thank fucking God. THANK YOU Steve for admitting that he knew he and Nancy were not right for each other. THANK YOU to Steve for reminding the audience that HE WANTS KIDS a LOT OF THEM and Nancy DOES NOT.
While I don't think it was executed very well, Will has always had a sensitive and tender heart. Him showing compassion towards Henry is an in-character choice.
Joyce going "you fucked with the wrong family".
JONATHAN saving Steve from certain death. Fuck ALL OF YOU Jonathan haters to the moon and back.
I didn't mind that the resolution to the love triangle was "and they all remained best friends forever". Steve and Jonathan becoming best friends after fighting over the same girl? I'm a sucker for that shit.
And now for the Negatives...
In a lot of ways, Stranger Things ending was very reflective of a turbulent culture. It started in 2016, five months before the first Trump administration, which heralded in a really severe cultural backlash towards the small movements of progressivism we gained under Obama.
It ended the same way during the second Trump administration. I don't think it's a coincidence that so many queer fans are upset about the resolution--I'm not saying THE BYLERS WERE RIGHT, I AM saying that once they decided to have Will openly struggle with a queer narrative, they did have a responsibility to do it justice, PARTICULARLY in a political climate where queer existence is a threat.
Kali. Bringing Kali back and then killing her off was one of the worst writing decisions I've ever seen and it is VERY reminiscent of how I felt about Neal's death in OUAT--but far, far worse. Worse because she was one of the few dynamic and nuanced POC female characters on a pretty white-washed show. Worse because the fandom's reaction was incredibly racist and disgusting towards her from day one. Worse because instead of giving her traumatic life resolution and comfort, they killed her off in a hacky way to prop up the white girl's story. No matter what I was going to do, I was going to write Stali. It could have ended with Kali flirting with Robin, it could've ended with Kali and Hopper warily striking up a familial relationship, it could've ended with Kali working with Will and El to destroy Vecna together--yes, I liked the Natural 20 theory. But no. After a traumatic childhood, they had her captured by the military again, had her best friends shot and killed in front of her, and then she was tortured in captivity for two years. Her bodily autonomy was taken from her. That is an incredibly serious narrative move and it is BADLY irresponsible to KILL HER OFF after giving her this tragic lore, particularly when factions of the government are currently rounding up dark-skinned women in the real world. Kali could've been a symbol of victory, of triumph over a fascist military takeover. Instead, they made her a casualty only after using her body for military experiments. "It's fantasy, it's fiction" yes, but when you have an award-winning cultural milestone show that defined a particular era in television, you DO have a responsibility to your audience. And this was a betrayal. I am a white woman who adored Kali from the beginning, but I cannot IMAGINE what it must feel like to a POC woman who may have similar trauma to watch this as "entertainment".
Hey uh, where the hell is Vicki in the epilogue? Did they literally erase the bisexual character?
Hopper's treatment of Kali was appalling. Him ABANDONING HER to the government actually made me cry out in disgust. It felt OOC to me, honestly, for Hopper--who has always had a soft spot for the outcasts and misfit kids in the past--to be so aggressive and cruel to Kali, even if he was worried about her encouraging El to sacrifice herself. We were robbed of Joyce mothering Kali the same way she mothered Derek.
El sacrificing herself was redundant. We've already done this. We did it in season one. If you repeat something like this narratively, it deadens the impact. It's bad writing.
I didn't exactly hate Holly's presence as much as others--she was confusing age-wise (if Hawkins was occupied by the military for two years, as they stated, I suppose that would put her at age eight or nine?) but if they were going to use her so much, they ought to have built her character more in previous seasons.
Insisting the audience MUST see the Broadway play that ties into the plot is fucking inane and a cheap capitalist ploy. I'm watching Jonathan talking about his anti-capitalist film while Netflix is doing the shittiest things to real writers and promoting their content in the greediest and capitalist way ever.
Since when is Max interested in D&D?
All in all, I was not happy. I already had a pretty waning interest when the first volume dropped UNTIL the Kali reveal. Once she was disposed of, I literally kept checking to see how much time was left because I simply did not care.
There's always fanfic and that is beautiful. Stali will likely be my 2026 obsession.
But that does not absolve the Duffers of some seriously bad writing choices and I hope they are rightly slammed by critics.
dark s3 really asks the important questions. like why make two incredible seasons only to end up with a bunch of characters we never developed and never cared about, and then decide to sacrifice the most interesting ones just to save some boring random fucks.
