I’ve been wondering about something: do C-drama productions actually use different writing teams?
Lately, I’ve noticed a pattern where the first part of a drama (usually the first 8 to 10 episodes) is genuinely well-written, tight, and super engaging. Then the middle arc suddenly dips in quality, almost as if someone else took over: the pacing collapses, the plot gets messy or boring, and the character writing feels way weaker. Basically the essence of the cdrama is gone, replaced by filler and very weak writing. Instead of layering the characters and giving them more depth and demonstrating it (show don't tell), it feels... boring.
By the time we reach the ending, the story picks up again, but only after making huge sacrifices : rushed resolutions, completely altered endings, or even killing off major characters and stripping them of the traits that made them compelling in the first place.
It’s becoming so noticeable that even adaptations based on a webnovel source show those bizarre splits in writing quality.
So… is this an actual industry practice, or just a recurring production issue? Or, is there another explanation ?
I would love to hear your theories !
A few recent examples :
Sword and Beloved (writing mess after the ML litterally disapeared from the plot), Princess Gambit (hello amnesia, goodbye wits and grit), Fight for Love (lost its core values : sorority, melancholia, grit for justice, ...), Deep Affectionate Eyes (lost its essence of a mature yet healing love between broken people), A Moment but Forever (lost its lore and essence), ...
You can add any that do have those weird writings shifts. And how it impacted you...
I sadly ended-up dropping almost all of them.
