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I definitely know why opinions were so divided
Both characters are complicated, particularly ML. It's dismissive to simply say "he is toxic, she is a pushover", as he does show self-reflection and strives to improve, and she does not always give in. It frustrates me that people online paint this with such broad strokes, half of them didn't get past the first few episodes before giving their opinion on the drama as a whole (you can certainly have an opinion, but limit it to just what you've seen and make that clear). Also, sometimes I wasn't sure if we were watching the same show because people said "He never once apologized" when he absolutely did reflect and apologize directly (through explicit words "I'm sorry" as well as through actions). Yes of course he still slipped into jealousy and I'm not trying to say he was an angel, but straight up lying that he never apologized is weird. You can say "it wasn't enough based on his subsequent actions" or something, but that's different from just lazy lying (half the time my reviews are arguing with other people, sorry).
For the FL, Sun Qian did well in this role, but the role itself was simply not written to show as much growth as the ML and so it was inevitable for her to be overshadowed. Her timidity towards him does get a little better over time but she still seemed too awkward around him even after supposedly being together for years, which made the passage of time not seem realistic. Since they were making changes from the novel anyway, if they were going to keep the FL as wide-eyed and trying to keep the ML at arms length the whole time, they should have amended the timeline to make their relationship more like 2-3 years.
Speaking of changes, the biggest head scratcher for me was the fact that they consistently showed the ML as the one who called her his girlfriend repeatedly and treated her as such; she was the one who wanted to keep the relationship on the downlow for the first 4+ years so as to not look like she was "sleeping her way to the top" with her boss, she was the one who didn't treat him as a boyfriend and withholding things that happened to her from him. Then suddenly in episode 18, she suddenly is like "I want to go public with our relationship, get married someday, maybe have kids" and then suddenly the ML is like "No I'm not that kind of guy and can't give you what you want." Apparentlly that came from the novel, but keeping that the same when the drama set up their dynamic to be the opposite felt like whiplash. Then episode 19 they make up, and they both lean into the fact that they were mistaken as a married couple during their Tibet photos. Is he stringing her along but hasn't changed his mind on marriage or is he now more-open to the idea after breaking up the first time and losing her for a while?
Then again, maybe this was intentional? The only reason why I'm willing to consider it intentional is that unfortunately I have seen couples together for years with one partner stringing along the other with promises they never intend to fulfill, even if there is genuine love there. I myself have also had relationships where the man came on strong for the longest time and then suddenly turned tail and ran away when I assumed this meant he was serious about a future. Their dynamic overall can be seen in real-life relationships, which is what people find triggering and why this created so much buzz.
Overall a decent watch, better than other modern romance Cdramas I've watched. Because opinions were so divided I was unsure whether to watch it, but I think it is worth it for everyone to watch and decide for themselves how they feel.
It was addictive with ok pacing and a good candidate for rewatches. The business parts did feel more consequential than some other offic dramas I've seen. Minus 2 points for inconsistency in characterization (esp ep 18) and that it did not feel like 6 years passed, the progression of their relationship felt closer to that of 2-3 years as mentioned above. Also, music got a low score because despite "Her" by Liu Yuning being an absolute banger, the other songs were very meh.
For the FL, Sun Qian did well in this role, but the role itself was simply not written to show as much growth as the ML and so it was inevitable for her to be overshadowed. Her timidity towards him does get a little better over time but she still seemed too awkward around him even after supposedly being together for years, which made the passage of time not seem realistic. Since they were making changes from the novel anyway, if they were going to keep the FL as wide-eyed and trying to keep the ML at arms length the whole time, they should have amended the timeline to make their relationship more like 2-3 years.
Speaking of changes, the biggest head scratcher for me was the fact that they consistently showed the ML as the one who called her his girlfriend repeatedly and treated her as such; she was the one who wanted to keep the relationship on the downlow for the first 4+ years so as to not look like she was "sleeping her way to the top" with her boss, she was the one who didn't treat him as a boyfriend and withholding things that happened to her from him. Then suddenly in episode 18, she suddenly is like "I want to go public with our relationship, get married someday, maybe have kids" and then suddenly the ML is like "No I'm not that kind of guy and can't give you what you want." Apparentlly that came from the novel, but keeping that the same when the drama set up their dynamic to be the opposite felt like whiplash. Then episode 19 they make up, and they both lean into the fact that they were mistaken as a married couple during their Tibet photos. Is he stringing her along but hasn't changed his mind on marriage or is he now more-open to the idea after breaking up the first time and losing her for a while?
Then again, maybe this was intentional? The only reason why I'm willing to consider it intentional is that unfortunately I have seen couples together for years with one partner stringing along the other with promises they never intend to fulfill, even if there is genuine love there. I myself have also had relationships where the man came on strong for the longest time and then suddenly turned tail and ran away when I assumed this meant he was serious about a future. Their dynamic overall can be seen in real-life relationships, which is what people find triggering and why this created so much buzz.
Overall a decent watch, better than other modern romance Cdramas I've watched. Because opinions were so divided I was unsure whether to watch it, but I think it is worth it for everyone to watch and decide for themselves how they feel.
It was addictive with ok pacing and a good candidate for rewatches. The business parts did feel more consequential than some other offic dramas I've seen. Minus 2 points for inconsistency in characterization (esp ep 18) and that it did not feel like 6 years passed, the progression of their relationship felt closer to that of 2-3 years as mentioned above. Also, music got a low score because despite "Her" by Liu Yuning being an absolute banger, the other songs were very meh.
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