xaireliaaaa

It’s not about sensitivity. Not everyone wants to watch a show that normalizes disrespect under the guise of character development. There’s a difference between having flawed characters and promoting behavior that reinforces toxic standards. That’s the actual critique.

Alright y’all, thanks for the lively debate and for reminding me that apparently having a different opinion is a crime in these review streets 😌💅🏽 I shared how I felt, based on my experience, and somehow that became an open invite for folks to twist my words or school me on how I “missed the point.” Cute.

Just because you connected with the drama doesn’t mean everyone has to—and just because I didn’t doesn’t mean I need a lecture. Reviews are personal. Mine reflected how it made me feel. That’s literally the point of a rating system.

Anyway, I’m closing this review soon. No hard feelings, but I won’t be explaining myself again. Y’all are free to stan, and I’m free to tap out. Peace, love, and better storytelling 🫶🏽✨

—Over and out.

Totally get that—and I actually respect your effort to understand where others are coming from. But at the end of the day, I don’t owe a rating that aligns with anyone else’s criteria but my own. Whether or not you personally see how my points apply is okay—it’s my experience that shaped my rating, not anyone else’s interpretation.

Yes, ratings can impact a drama’s success, but honesty is important too. I’m struggling to understand how my one review will have a dire consequence on the shows ratings but whatever you think. Not every viewer will connect with a show the way its creators hoped, and we should be allowed to express that without pressure to explain it in a way that satisfies everyone. Understanding my low rating has nothing to do with anyone but myself

No hard feelings—I’m happy to let differing views coexist and leave it at that.

That’s fair if you saw it as a fun sci-fi romcom—it clearly worked for you. For me, even within that genre, there’s still room to critique how women are portrayed or how certain tropes are handled. The tone just didn’t align with what I was hoping for, and that is enough reason for a low rating—because ratings reflect personal experience, not just technical execution.

Also, with all due respect, you’re not the authority on how someone should rate a drama. The whole point of a rating system is for individuals to express how something made them feel. Just like your high rating reflects your enjoyment, my low rating reflects mine. Neither is more valid than the other.

At the end of the day, taste is subjective. A drama can be well-produced and still not resonate with everyone—and that’s perfectly okay. I shared my honest thoughts, and I’m good leaving it there. Appreciate the convo though!

To clarify since I am aware that my review did come off as harsh (which I agree I wrote out of spite), I get that everyone experiences stories differently, and that’s totally okay. That’s actually the beauty of media—we all bring our own perspectives, emotions, and life experiences into what we watch. For me, this drama started with so much potential. It seemed like it might dive into themes of empowerment, healing, and breaking free from limiting ideals, which I was so here for.

But as the story went on, I personally felt like it shifted in a direction that leaned a little too much into the male gaze. Some of the choices felt like they undercut the female lead’s agency, and instead of growth or self-discovery, it started to feel more like she was being placed into roles or situations that weren’t really empowering anymore. That doesn’t mean the show has no value—it just means that for me, it didn’t deliver what I hoped it would.

And that’s the thing—ratings exist so people can express their honest experiences. I didn’t rate it low out of spite for no reason; I rated it based on how I felt watching it. Not every drama will resonate with every viewer the same way, and that’s okay. We don’t have to agree, but I do think it’s important to allow space for different interpretations.

Just because a show didn’t work for me doesn’t mean I “didn’t get it”—it just means I connected with it in a different way. And that perspective is valid, too.

I totally respect your interpretation, and I think it’s valid to say the drama explores multiple layers like trauma, beauty standards, and family wounds. I never said those weren’t meaningful themes. But I also believe it’s fair for viewers to critique the execution and the lens through which those topics are presented.

You’re right—it doesn’t have to be a feminist drama. But when a show markets itself or sets itself up to look like it might center around female empowerment, and then the execution leans heavily into male validation, romantic resolution, or visual objectification, it’s fair for people to feel disappointed. That doesn’t mean we expect every show to be feminist—it means we’re holding media accountable for the messages it does (or doesn’t) send, intentionally or not.

Also, relationships can be beautiful, for sure. But stories about healing don’t always have to end with a couple to feel “complete.” Some of us crave narratives where women grow on their own terms, outside of a romantic lens—and that’s okay too.

So at the end of the day, different viewers can take different things from the same story. But it’s still valid to critique the parts that didn’t land well for us.

My review came from a place of real disappointment and disgust with how things were playing out so far. I wasn’t writing it from a detached, academic lens—I was reacting to what felt like a bait-and-switch.

So when I said the show had potential, I meant it—it could have been something powerful. But instead, I ended up feeling like the message got lost, and that’s what pushed me to speak up.

I get that different people come to drama-land for different things—some want fantasy, some want realism, some want romance, some want catharsis. And that’s valid! But personally, I wasn’t looking for a fairytale or a love story—I was hoping for a story where the female lead could stand strong without getting dragged through tropes that feel outdated and damaging. All love, thanks for taking time write what you thought about it.

Hey, I appreciate you taking the time to respond so thoroughly. You clearly love the drama, and I respect that. But just like you said—"the story is layered and inspires a variety of interpretations", right? That’s exactly what I’m doing. Interpreting. Through my lens. Through my lived experiences.

You referenced Rashomon, and I love that, because you're absolutely right—people perceive the same event differently based on their perspectives. So why is it that your reading of the drama is valid, but mine is "not in the drama"?

You say I’m "viewing it through a filter," but babe…we all are. That’s what media does. No one comes to a story as a blank slate. And when I talk about faux-feminism or male gaze, I’m not just talking about plot points—I’m talking about framing, pacing, character development, and subtext. The way trauma is handled. The way bodies are shot. The way power is distributed in emotional arcs. All of that contributes to whether a story feels empowering or exploitative.

Not to mention you also said I claimed "this drama was secretly written by men" which was never said, nor indirectly mentioned in my review, I took the time to review who was the screen writer, director, and chief producer, two of which are women.

And no shade to Tong Hua—she’s accomplished, she’s brilliant—but as I said before, being a woman doesn’t inherently make something feminist. We’re all swimming in the same patriarchal soup. Women can uphold harmful tropes too, especially in mainstream media where commercial pressure often overrides revolutionary storytelling.

Also, "set in a cosmetics company" doesn’t automatically make it a feminist critique of beauty standards. Sometimes it just doubles down on the aesthetic obsession without offering real commentary. Again, it's about execution, not premise.

Bottom line: I watched what I watched, and I felt what I felt. And just like you're allowed to love the drama for what it meant to you, I'm allowed to call it out for what it felt like to me. If later episodes prove me wrong? Cool. I’ll reassess. But until then? My review stands.

And respectfully, comparing me to a fictional character who misinterprets a school crush… kind of proves my point about how women’s experiences get diminished when they speak up. Lastly, as I mentioned before, I asked if there were scenes in the show that may have made your opinion seem that way but you seemed to have not responded to that so I'd like to ask once again if there were any scenes that you thought made you feel that way. If I come to be on the same pace as your view point then I'll come right back and let you know.

I get where you’re coming from, but I have to disagree with a few points.

"At zero point is it ever said that a woman needs a man to be whole."

I see what you're saying, but it’s not always about directly saying it. It’s more about the tone, the treatment of the female lead, and how her agency gets undercut by the male gaze. Media doesn’t need to say everything out loud—it’s the implications that matter.

"Also, the story is written by Tong Hua, a famous woman author..."

I respect that Tong Hua is a woman, but being a woman doesn’t automatically make the writing feminist or empowering. Sometimes, women writers can still reinforce male-centric narratives or internalized patriarchy, especially when money and marketability come into play. So we can appreciate the author without turning a blind eye to some of the underlying issues.

I think what you’re missing is that I wasn’t saying “all the characters are desperate for men.” I was pointing out that the tone and execution didn’t give us the strong, independent female empowerment that the show could’ve delivered.

It’s totally okay to have different views, but I feel like your response kind of missed the point I was making. Both can be true: it could be written by women and still miss the mark for its female audience. Just my two cents! We have our own opinions and I'm very much going through clips to put pieces together, but until I find something that goes against my point, this post is staying up. If you have any evidence that you feel could go against my previous comment then let me know. I'll feel the way I feel about it.