Rewatching this again. Just finished episode 4 and urgh! Chen Yichuan is one of the most insufferable and pretentious characters I have ever seen in c-dramas, just like I remembered. I also read my initial comment on this episode, and it seems that the intense hate I feel for this arrogant character didn't change. Terrible, terrible teachers as well. I was fuming when that one teacher just kept going and going with his insults and accusations (with Chen Yichuan jumping in to support him, like the annoying waste of space he is in this drama). It's just sad that seniority/authority makes some people treat others like trash when they absolutely don't deserve it.
This thing above won't be the only thing that will annoy me in this rewatch, as the drama has some of my other least favorite types of characters. BUT, what makes this drama so good is how Jiang Zhen Han and Xia Lin Xi deal with these problems. They're so good together and their chemistry makes other things bearable (for me) in spite of some annoying side characters.
She was supposed to be really young when she had him.
His height is a problem that his technique and jumping power can't cover on a higher level, apparently. I don't know the details about about this particular sports area, but the book (which I just started) stated that tall & thin athletes are most likely to succeed in the high jump event, and some people note that Duan Yucheng's body is more suited to the sprint races.
His height being a problem will be a feature in a few more episodes, if I remember correctly. There's a climax point (of sorts) in episode 11 and his career takes a turn for the better afterwards. They handled the whole thing rather brilliantly, I think.
If you want to watch more of WAY’s, I recommend Forever Love while waiting for new eps. That’s where I discovered…
That's where I first saw him too. I also watched him in "To Fly With You", which is another sports-romance drama I really liked. I do like "Falling Into You" more (in comparison) so far, as the story here is tighter. "Dreaming Back to the Qing Dynasty" is also on my radar, I might check that out sometime soon.
This drama managed to exceed my expectations. Sports is the focus, with some dashes of romance along the way. It managed to evoke some very powerful emotions in certain scenes. The chemistry is good, WAY's acting has been great, and character developments and sports focus made this drama a joy so watch so far. It'll be hard to wait for new episodes now that I'm caught up :)
I hope the writers manage to wrap the story up in a nice way.
(Also, the opening of the drama is very captivating. What a style!)
Ok I know the second FL lies to ML but does she lie about her having an account when it was FL's or she has an…
They had some conversations, but the ones we saw actually had no context that truly reflected the second FL's true self, with the possible exception of mentioning that she had to do some training whenever there was a basketball competition. And even that was interesting to the ML after he was misled by her into believing that they had common interests.
Also, as someone else also mentioned, that one conversation we got to see about their favorite work from a certain author/director (I can't remember what it was now) had already shown that the second FL had no idea what she was talking about. She was apparently copy-pasting the FL's posts without even looking up what they were, and when she was talking about them with the ML, she was letting the ML lead the conversation with half suggestions.
I don't think this is an unforgivable sin or anything. But the ML, understandably, feels a stronger connection to the FL because of their shared interests, as she was already his best friend before he found out the stuff he saw online was hers. And we also saw the ML having some difficulties holding an interest-based conversation with the second FL (when they weren't helping each other out for whatever reason). Ultimately, I just think he's developing a crush on the FL and this "reveal" just makes him more focused on their shared connection (although the FL isn't aware of this) due to his new feelings. Does he even understand why he was so jealous of and frustrated by the second ML in the latest episodes, and why he was so nervous to talk to the FL? I don't know. But it was cute and very entertaining to watch.
I liked Son Ho Jun's other works enough to watch this despite the bad reviews. And I can't say the reviews were wrong. The first episode was extremely promising and the following episodes were interesting, but sadly, this drama fell into the trap of ridiculous plotlines, greedy characters doing evil things for a loooong time, and contrived conflicts, like so many others of its kind. I enjoyed some characters, the couples had decent chemistry and it *has* a happy ending. But I just can't gather the will to fully watch the melodrama of this kind without skipping ahead.
Despite the rather unremarkable plotlines, I will particularly remember three characters in this drama. Yoong-ae (Kim Mi Poong's mother), because she suffered the most out of all characters, I think. I wouldn't have expected to find myself feeling sorry for her when I started the drama, especially after her introduction in the first episode. Secondly, I did feel for Jang-go in this drama. Again, his storyline wasn't the best (none of the characters had a good storyline, to be fair) and had a lot of wasted potential, but he did well despite being stuck in the middle of a crazy mother and a self-conscious and self-sacrificing lover. I just wish he actually had a storyline of his own as well, as the first few episodes hinted. And lastly, Yoo-jin in the last few episodes were very heartbreaking to watch.
The cast did well, I think, for the most part, with what they were given. This drama had some of the most hateable *and* pitiful characters I've watched in a while. Shin-ae and Geum-sil were easily the most hateable characters and I definitely felt sorry for Kim Mi Poong and her family due to the hardships they went through. But almost none of it felt true, because the writing was just not good. I don't know why they just seemingly stopped caring about a good plot after a few episodes, but it feels like the first few and the last few episodes are the only ones necessary (and worth) watching.
This got better and better towards the end and had a beautiful ending. I laughed and cried, what more can I ask? It reflected the flawed yet really inspiring love story of the main couple really well. Not only romance, but the sacred parent-child relationship is a huge part of this too, which made the drama much better for it. (I will probably rewatch it a few weeks later. Why am I like this?! XD)
A thought that came to me, and I wanted to share: Many of commenters expressed their displeasure and disappointment…
Just as you pointed out, revenge shaped LBY's life and his actions were out of his long-time obsession. And, just as you pointed out, CSS's revenge on the 3rd princess was a momentary decision. LBY is an avenger for an injustice that happened long ago that doesn't affect him today besides causing emotional pain. CSS is under constant emotional and verbal (and sometimes even physical) abuse by spoiled princesses at the palace and feels frustrated because of their ongoing actions. And lastly, CSS's revenge, even though it's poorly timed, does not affect her relationship with LBY in any significant way. LBY's revenge, on the other hand, is a car crash that leaves their romance in a coma.
So, I don't think both situations are similar in context or intentions. Especially in context, the differences are huge.
LBY's need for revenge is definitely relatable, as is his determination and even his impulsiveness. But that impulsiveness also created his current engagement. That, and his constant love declarations create certain expectations and responsibilities for LBY towards CSS. In that case, is it unreasonable to feel displeasure or disappointment about the timing of the revenge plan at the cost of his lover's heart?
LBY is certainly a product of his upbringing and the trauma he went through. And, his actions for revenge don't make him hateable, but they can (and should be) questioned for their consequences. LBY is also not a perfect human, after all, he can do wrong things for the right reasons.
I said I would wait until it is finished to begin this drama, but I was really hyped up after watching the most recent Asian Championships. So I'm going to start tonight. Since mixed doubles is one of my favorite disciplines, I hope this show makes an effort to present good badminton plays. Or passable, at least.
At first, I thought Liang Wan would be crucial for the plot, so I never skipped her scenes for the first few episodes, even though I didn't really like the character. But her unprofessional behavior as a doctor and shallow attitude towards "handsome men" really test my patience. I'm 11 episodes in, and there are no signs of improvement on her plot. (EDIT: Well, things actually improved... Thankfully.)
Fortunately, the adventures in the desert are really interesting and impressive. That was the main attraction of the show for me, so I'm glad it's going well on that front. And the plot points with Zhang Ri Shan are intriguing, even if it is a bit confusing (at the moment) for someone new to the IP.
This thing above won't be the only thing that will annoy me in this rewatch, as the drama has some of my other least favorite types of characters. BUT, what makes this drama so good is how Jiang Zhen Han and Xia Lin Xi deal with these problems. They're so good together and their chemistry makes other things bearable (for me) in spite of some annoying side characters.
His height being a problem will be a feature in a few more episodes, if I remember correctly. There's a climax point (of sorts) in episode 11 and his career takes a turn for the better afterwards. They handled the whole thing rather brilliantly, I think.
I hope the writers manage to wrap the story up in a nice way.
(Also, the opening of the drama is very captivating. What a style!)
Also, as someone else also mentioned, that one conversation we got to see about their favorite work from a certain author/director (I can't remember what it was now) had already shown that the second FL had no idea what she was talking about. She was apparently copy-pasting the FL's posts without even looking up what they were, and when she was talking about them with the ML, she was letting the ML lead the conversation with half suggestions.
I don't think this is an unforgivable sin or anything. But the ML, understandably, feels a stronger connection to the FL because of their shared interests, as she was already his best friend before he found out the stuff he saw online was hers. And we also saw the ML having some difficulties holding an interest-based conversation with the second FL (when they weren't helping each other out for whatever reason). Ultimately, I just think he's developing a crush on the FL and this "reveal" just makes him more focused on their shared connection (although the FL isn't aware of this) due to his new feelings. Does he even understand why he was so jealous of and frustrated by the second ML in the latest episodes, and why he was so nervous to talk to the FL? I don't know. But it was cute and very entertaining to watch.
Despite the rather unremarkable plotlines, I will particularly remember three characters in this drama. Yoong-ae (Kim Mi Poong's mother), because she suffered the most out of all characters, I think. I wouldn't have expected to find myself feeling sorry for her when I started the drama, especially after her introduction in the first episode. Secondly, I did feel for Jang-go in this drama. Again, his storyline wasn't the best (none of the characters had a good storyline, to be fair) and had a lot of wasted potential, but he did well despite being stuck in the middle of a crazy mother and a self-conscious and self-sacrificing lover. I just wish he actually had a storyline of his own as well, as the first few episodes hinted. And lastly, Yoo-jin in the last few episodes were very heartbreaking to watch.
The cast did well, I think, for the most part, with what they were given. This drama had some of the most hateable *and* pitiful characters I've watched in a while. Shin-ae and Geum-sil were easily the most hateable characters and I definitely felt sorry for Kim Mi Poong and her family due to the hardships they went through. But almost none of it felt true, because the writing was just not good. I don't know why they just seemingly stopped caring about a good plot after a few episodes, but it feels like the first few and the last few episodes are the only ones necessary (and worth) watching.
So, I don't think both situations are similar in context or intentions. Especially in context, the differences are huge.
LBY's need for revenge is definitely relatable, as is his determination and even his impulsiveness. But that impulsiveness also created his current engagement. That, and his constant love declarations create certain expectations and responsibilities for LBY towards CSS. In that case, is it unreasonable to feel displeasure or disappointment about the timing of the revenge plan at the cost of his lover's heart?
LBY is certainly a product of his upbringing and the trauma he went through. And, his actions for revenge don't make him hateable, but they can (and should be) questioned for their consequences. LBY is also not a perfect human, after all, he can do wrong things for the right reasons.
Fortunately, the adventures in the desert are really interesting and impressive. That was the main attraction of the show for me, so I'm glad it's going well on that front. And the plot points with Zhang Ri Shan are intriguing, even if it is a bit confusing (at the moment) for someone new to the IP.