I get what you’re saying about soft strength, but let’s be honest, most of what you listed is basic decency,…
I get that you enjoy her, and that’s fair , I’m just analyzing the writing as it stands. If the later episodes give her independent goals or consequences, that’ll be a welcome improvement.
I get what you’re saying about soft strength, but let’s be honest, most of what you listed is basic decency,…
Right, it’s not even a romance, so why are they staring at each other and kissing a few episodes back? You’ll never get it: she serves no real purpose. If she disappeared tomorrow, no one would miss her. Yes, she saved him, but did you really think they were going to kill off the male lead? He would have survived without her. Every other character has a purpose or a personal goal that intertwines with supporting the male lead, except her.
I get what you’re saying about soft strength, but let’s be honest, most of what you listed is basic decency,…
You don’t seem to understand what narrative agency actually means. If nothing a character does affects the plot or drives the story forward, then she has no agency. Everything you listed are just ways she supports the male lead, because that’s all she is: a prop meant to humanize him or give the audience exposition. She appears screaming his name like they’re fated lovers, yet the story never takes time to develop their romance. All she does is question his next move so he can explain it to us. She “found the ledgers” only because the plot needed her to seem somewhat useful to justify her existence. She serves no real purpose outside of emotional support and potential kidnap target for the villains.
I get what you’re saying about soft strength, but let’s be honest, most of what you listed is basic decency,…
I think you’re misinterpreting the critique. No one is saying she isn’t important or won’t become important. The issue is that she only exists in the story as a narrative device, someone to look longingly at the male lead even though they share no history, someone who conveniently has the power to save him even though he’s supposed to be a god, someone to reassure him he’s good when the world doesn’t even view him as bad, and someone to ask him why he’s doing certain things just so he can explain to us how smart he is. We don’t dislike her because she’s weak; we dislike her because she’s not a fully fleshed-out character with agency.
A Shui strong woman moments:1) tells TLC “no you are not sorry” when he apologized for grabbing her throat…
I get what you’re saying about soft strength, but let’s be honest, most of what you listed is basic decency, not power. Saying “no” to being choked isn’t character development. Covering a wound and deciding not to ask questions isn’t deep wisdom, it’s just passive politeness. If compassion is her power, then show how that compassion changes the story, not just how it makes her look virtuous. A Shui mostly reacts to things after they happen, and being calm and quiet isn’t the same as being effective. There’s a difference between a “strong silent type” and a spectator with nice lighting. She’s written like the latter.
Rewatching to celebrate the news. Can’t wait to recenter this world I loved. It’s the first male-centric C-drama that actually treated women as equals instead of decorations or props for the men.
This show is really testing my patience. I was already annoyed when they added Shei, the useless narrator, and made the biggest threat a pill-peddling salty ex-friend. But now we’ve got mechanical bulls catapulting fireballs into the mix?
Well it is kind of a flirting with romance with them, but not quite. The way he looks and talks to her is interesting(…
Yes, but the problem is she hasn’t earned any of this interaction. We don’t even know who she is, her only purpose seems to be moving the plot forward. Yet he’s looking at her longingly when we already know this storyline is about a homo-suggestive brotherhood breakdown. So why is she even there?
I’ve been talking to my partner about this, and just reflecting on how different some of these Asian cultures…
Because they are a collective culture, individual identity is closely tied to one’s clan or family. In ancient times, the downfall of one person could bring ruin to the entire immediate family, including collateral branches. While modern times have changed how punishment is administered, the sense of collective shame remains deeply ingrained.
If compassion is her power, then show how that compassion changes the story, not just how it makes her look virtuous. A Shui mostly reacts to things after they happen, and being calm and quiet isn’t the same as being effective.
There’s a difference between a “strong silent type” and a spectator with nice lighting. She’s written like the latter.