Maika

It was an okay drama for me. I don't think it's something amazing nor terrible. Somewhere in the middle. I don't really watch for romance so I don't hold much expectations for it. I think the romance here was so so. They didn't really develop the relationships well imo? They had cute pairings and everything but not enough development.

Yes, they allowed it. In the end, she was told she has to get the previous foster mother's permission to file for the case. After receiving permission, her sister filmed a video where she gave a statement about the kidnapping case. Then, she went to court and they allowed her to adopt Hye Na.

Because of the court decision. When she was tried for kidnapping Hyena, the judge says that she cannot be in contact with Hye Na. So that also means she cannot adopt her either.

it's late response. but b/c he and his brother were born from the bead's power.
Tian Shu gave the Queen Tuoyue a seed (most likely from using the two Divine Beads power that he had) and Mu Le and Heng were born from it. So with the Beads being destroyed, they also have to die.

It started to make sense why Mu Le had flashbacks when he saw Yuan'an and we saw Yuan'an in Mu Le's past (cause of time travel). But then that would mean Yuan'an ALSO should've had those flashbacks, no?
They explained the red dragon too.. (but they seemed to imply that the person who sacrificed himself to seal red dragon was Tianshu with Yuan'an's flashback. It was misleading. But it makes more sense that it could be a different person. Before they said, an archmage sacrificed himself and used a magical tree. But we don't see Tianshu having a magical tree watch over the cave. Tianshu only sacrificed himself to seal the body of the Red Dragon? While the Red Dragon's blood is still in Mu Le and before the dragon being released by Ling Xi, Mu Le didn't have Red Dragon's blood..(time travel confusion sigh)

I'm at ep 45 and Yuan'an is pissing me off. Tian shu sent her to the past to let things go and forgive. I get it she's mad, but I feel like they're dragging her resentment for so long. She doesn't really hate him, but keeps hurting him. I honestly felt sad for Ying on their wedding day and wanted to cry with him. I was getting mad at the way Yuan'an was hurting him all the time when he loves her wholeheartedly (and treating him as if he's still her servant. I'd expect her to realize when she's a maid how the role reversal feels. But she still acts like a brat and doesn't try to understand him.) It also deviates from what she has been doing. She knew he was amnesiac so how could he deceive her? When he was Mu Le and & made mistakes she would do everything to protect him. She did hurt him when he was Mu Le too, but not try to threaten to kill him. I expected her to realize she's freaking in love with him sooner instead of the last 3 episodes.

Lanzhi wasn't really matched to be with her. Their personalities clash. He follows law/rules strictly and is mature (seems like he also doesn't know how to have fun either). All I saw in the start was him keeping Yuan'an under control and managing her. Later on, I did see his devotion to her. But it seems he had this soft spot for Minghui too. Lanzhi knew Minghui is corrupt, but didn't bother finding evidence against her or bring her down. He let things slide a lot for her and misunderstand Yuan'an a lot. So I still prefer Mu Le over him. Yuan'an does take care of Mu Le specially (some say like he's her kid, but I disagree). Mu Le and Yuan'an both had that trait of seeing people for who they are (though Mu Le was gullible, Ying wasn't that gullible). Lanzhi always believed in evidence as that was his job and it would clash with Yuan'an all the time. What I didn't like was how the drama was like leaning towards both of them. AT LEAST make it a bit more clearer to viewers about who she's actually in love with. All I thought it as was the typical FL character where her mind says she loves this guy but her heart is with another guy. And she probably denied her feelings for Mu Le because he was her servant.
I think it was obvious with the setup they were going for a Yuan'an x Mu Le couple so I knew Mu Le was in her heart, but Yuan'an thought she loved Lanzhi?
-> Ep. 4 the scene where Mu Le takes Yuan'an's hand and we see Yuan'an in his past and future..?
-> The flower scene where Mu Le takes a petal off Yuan'an's head.
-> General Guo's mansion where their lips were close to each other.
-> The forced kiss between them.
-> The part where Yuan'an tells Mu Le about her mother. She doesn't tell Lanzhi about her mother. You usually tell a person close to you about something sensitive like that.
-> When Yuan'an and Mu Le sing each other the lullaby. (in prison and when she's cursed)
-> Yuan'an does everything to protect him. She protects Lanzhi too, but she goes to a further extent for Mu Le. She always wants to protect him from being killed and can't kill him.
-> Yuan'an hesitated to answer Mu Le's question about what she thinks of him when she was cursed.

Update- It gets better at 47 but now after watching the last episode..idk anymore. Some things were explained. But I'm kinda upset at that ending. I can see why people were disappointed. The ending can't be explained. I'm assuming it's an illusion. But that's kinda sad, implying she's gonna live with the hallucination of Mu Le. They sorta foreshadowed it in the maze. He told her he can't promise to live forever and pretend he's there with her.. but seriously why does majority of Chinese wuxia/xianxia dramas I watch like to kill off the ML to make the viewers emotional? I really liked Ying/Mu Le's character and was soo sad when he died like that (I need to watch another drama to cure this sadness). The poor guy deserved better.
I'm still confused about some things. Using time travel in dramas are always tricky cause things loop around in a circle. Very few of them do a decent job as to not cause confusion.
There's so many plotholes in this drama. It was agitating, but I still can't say I hated the drama. I liked Suoluo Kingdom's setting, costumes, hairstyles. I liked watching the drama for Tianshu and Mu Le/Ying honestly.

My MAIN ISSUE(S):
- We assumed Prince Ying has the regenerative powers because of the Red Dragon's blood that mixed with his. Later on we find out that he's also born because of the Bead's power.
But he's also not immortal? When he was hit by that rock and smashed by the tree log, he was dying. He still had the powers of the Red Dragon (regeneration) but it wasn't enough to save him. But he was given that magical elixir and brought to life. That was never explained.. How could the pill do that? And that means even though they were born from the Beads, they can die?

- They said before, no one can use beads without permission. If the owner dies, then the beads are lost, right? And can't function? Even if the Prince Heng had permission to use the beads.. Why didn't they just freaking kill Heng since we know he isn't immortal. The beads won't be able to used, right. Isn't that simple?! And just gather the beads and keep them if they can't be used.
Also regarding the ownership, didn't Prince Heng tell Yuan'an that he'll give her the beads but Ying will have to die. And Yuan'an confirmed that if it's true and he confirmed it. Later, she grabbed the beads and he said so you chose the beads. Then she told him no. I thought that when he told her she chose it then it'd be hers automatically. But I guess it's because it technically wasn't his but his mother's at the time? But even so, Yuan'an swapped the egg bead. So that egg bead belonged to the mom who died right? Heng shouldn't have been able to snatch it from Yuan'an cause he wasn't granted permission for the egg bead cause it wasn't there with the rest of the beads.
The ownership of beads and usage wasn't properly explained. They tried to but failed to follow it or make it easily comprehensible.
(Also if Yuan'an took the egg bead, she shouldn't have carried it with her and fall for Heng's trap. She should've placed it elsewhere safe?)
It also doesn't make sense that when San Zhang passed away, the beads lost its owner except ones used by Tian Shu that were granted. But how did Tian Qiao manage to get one. When he tried to touch the beads, they disappeared. It looked like it found itself new owners??
It's so confusing. They say the beads can't be used if it loses its owner. But beads can find new owners? So that's why it must be destroyed for good?

But my other question..seemed like everything the Beads were used for were gone. Why wasn't the King (Ying's dad) back in coma? Ying and Heng were born from Bead's power so died..weapons were created by Bead and they were pushed out of the soldiers hands..King was healed by Bead. Sooo why is the king fine? Does that mean there's an exception so there's a possibility that the Mu Le that appears in the end isn't Yuan'an's hallucination? Is it possible that before he wiped her tears and said "If there's a next life/afterlife, I'd accompany you" there was some magical stuff happening to let him actually be with her in the end? Since beads were created by Nuwa she suddenly felt sorry for Ying and decided to make him reborn (idk?)

OTHER MINOR ISSUES:
- Minghui. The way the Empress just said oh Minghui is just a spy for Tian Qiao. If that's the case, then was the Empress aware of Minghui's desire to kill Lanzhi and Yuan'an because of Jiang Ren? How can you not scold her for that? And what about Yuan'an and Lanzhi? They just accepted it and didn't tell the Empress about how Minghui tried to kill Yuan'an several times. Minghui never apologized for trying to kill Yuan'an? Yuan'an would've died from the moth witchcraft if Tian shu wasn't there. And they showed how Yuan'an just casually drinks the wine not suspecting Minghui, allowing herself to be poisoned. Yuan'an knows Minghui is stronger than her in martial arts and how did Minghui lose so easily? Also did Yuan'an forget that Minghui tried to kill her several times?? Also, I was under the impression Minghui had feelings for her servant, Jiang Ren, but she never admits it. Instead, she says something else.

- Bandits case. I never really understood why those bandits needed to be eliminated. They seemed to be good (and yeah they may steal) but like Mu Le said, they killed bad people too. So they can't be entirely bad. Why does the Empress want to kill them?

- When Tian Qiao got stabbed by Yuan'an he turned to this fog thing and flew over to some area. How did Minghui know that he would be there? A lucky guess? Something related to being his disciple?

- When Tianshu asked Ying's mom (the Queen) to pardon Minghui and Lanzhi, I would assume the Queen would know that Yuan'an is in cahoots with them. SO, with Tianshu vouching for them, why does the Queen still call Yuan'an a temptress? Yuan'an is practically Tianshu's disciple. If the Queen respects Tianshu, shouldn't she trust his disciple and know she's not a monster? That situation of Ying be exiled and deprived of his status might not have happened and he would perhaps be given the beads back. But of course, the drama writers had to make the characters lose intelligence and let the bad guys get the beads and kill off Ying.

- This drama did not give proper consistent development to some characters. Many people felt Mu Le as a ML had less screen time in Tang than Lanzhi which is true. But I think I was fine with it in a way because he is amnesiac so we don't know much about his real self as Ying. However, I think it would be better to give Mu Le some more scenes with Yuan'an at least to build up their relationship more naturally?

Before watching this, I scrolled down to see if I knew the actors and got spoiled about Mu Le's identity cause it's written there lol.
I learned my lesson from past chinese dramas that spoil everything in their opening and ending songs. But still saw a few scenes in the song while skipping.

This drama was interesting at start even with plotholes. Minor things about characters were frustrating, but bearable. But then the second half after Ep. 30, it just went downhill for me there.
That second half was starting off good but then it was getting gradually worse (b/c of FL). I started to get frustrated with FL character (Yuan'an) there especially at Ep. 45.
It's sad that this drama had so much potential at the start and then it goes downhill cause of poor writing. Definitely would've rated it higher if they didn't leave so much uncertainty behind.

Also, I think the couple pairing of ML & FL is good. No second male lead syndrome here.
My spoiler comment below is just a long analysis of the drama. And the parts where I had issues.
I did try finding the novel online, didn't understand the ending but did read somewhere else about the novel's ending (I read wellwellbelle's review where they mentioned novel's end. That makes some sense). I think they should've used that ending and a bit more of information.

There is conflict but I wouldn't say it's heavy. It's easy to watch and not frustrating at all. The characters aren't dumb and figure out things at a pace that is satisfying. And yes the friendship is on point. It takes awhile for them to get to know each other in the start so there's some conflict but then they all become good friends.

I didn't think any were tbh. But, I was reading reviews and comments before I watched the drama (idk if it was MDL or somewhere else) but some people mentioned how the drama looked unappealing bc of the cheesy photos

Yeah, it's been awhile for me too. I looked back it's episode 3 around 40:25 for the timestamp.
MY: A fairy tale is a cruel fantasy that illustrates the brutality and violence of this world in a paradoxical manner.

Wonderful article. That's what I also liked about the drama. I also liked that episode in the start where Moon Young talked about her definition of fairytales being a cruel fantasy. She gave several examples and one of them was The Little Mermaid which everyone is familiar with. Just like others in that episode, I was familiar with the common theme that we were taught in school. But when she talked about what she saw as the moral of that fairytale, I just felt it refreshing because I saw how her interpretation of the fairytale can also be sorta true.

Couldn't watch this so I skipped some scenes throughout first fifteen episodes. The only characters I liked were Nongying, Changle, Zhu Yan, Qin. I sorta liked Mo Gongsun and the Crown Prince Li Che. But I wanted to spoil myself and saw last episode. I saw Nongying die when her and Gongsun tried to marry. NOPE. I'm sick of dramas making only the main couple go through the happy ending. Also I never liked Li Heng. But, the fact that he and Zhu Yan can be together as commoners and live happily when he did something wrong BUT Nongying has to die? Idk what happened and what I missed (and what caused her to die). But I'm not watching. I took a liking to her character and just gonna stop myself here from being more attached to Nongying and cry for her. It was already sad seeing Gongsun read a book by her grave and planted the tree that she asked of him when she was imprisoned by Li Che's granddad.
And if they made Nongying do something bad, I wouldn't like watching that either. I hate seeing characters like her end up painted bad.

Not a bad drama. For the medical part of drama, I think other medical dramas do better (from the few that I've seen). For me, the romance was bland but it didn't bother me much.
I can see why some people disliked the FL. I think she's alright. It's just that they gave her too many crying scenes so it looks like all her character does is cry (and run). I watched it for Ji Sung since he's one of my favorite actors. If the FL becomes unbearable in some scenes, either skip it, or watch 2x speed. That's what I did.

It's a nice, light, funny drama. Not much romance, but the friendship/camaraderie is touching here.
The FL & ML (Zhao Jian & Yuan Zhong Xin) are both characters that I like here.
I know some people avoided this drama because of the cheesy photos and cover photo, but I would say to give it a try and watch the first few episodes and see if it is for you.

Well, his agency confirmed the bullying accusations to be true. I wouldn't reach the conclusion yet about him being "once a bully" if what the production crew member said is true. If what that crew member said is true, it's proof that he hasn't changed and he's still an asshole. His agency is denying the sexual assault allegations. I don't understand what the police/prosecutors are doing or the victims. If they have proof about the sexual assault, then they should submit the evidence and an investigation should be done. If there wasn't proof then okay. But I read somewhere that one of the victims have evidence.
Also, everyone has a different motive and way of thinking.
Some victims are fine if they receive an apology whereas some are not.

I was also bullied. None of my bullies ever apologized to me and I don't expect one at this point. I still remember all their names and I'm sure they're probably living normally. I'm living fine and the past doesn't bother me too much. Sometimes I do remember the bullying but it's when if something triggers it (like watching a bullying drama or hearing about bullying). But, if I were to see them on-screen and they've become a celebrity, then that would make me pissed because that changes everything.
1) It means that they never felt guilty about what they've done for them to climb up to fame.
2) They're enjoying their rise to fame and like hearing praises about them from their fans and the public.
3)They also have this positive image created in public and living as if nothing happened.
If they truly felt guilty and were living in regret, then they should've apologized before aiming to be a celebrity. However, if they apologized on the early days of their career then I perhaps would've forgiven them based on two conditions:
1 -They should reach out to their other victims as well.
2- They also need to publicly apologize to set an example for the public. You know there's lots of people who look up to celebrities as role models? It needs to be for them and for others. "If you see me as a role model, then you should also learn from my mistakes and how I lived in guilt...and so on" Possibly state reasons they had for bullying and tell their followers that you shouldn't take out your troubles on others in the form of bullying.
But if time passed and it's been more than a year since they started their career as a celebrity, then no I wouldn't have forgiven them so easily. That means they didn't remember and they won't care till they're reminded. But I wouldn't wait past 2 years of their career to expose them. That's me though.

Not everyone can move on from the past. Some people are stuck in the past. Depending on the severity of the bullying, there could be trauma.
As for the victims for Ji Soo and why they're waiting for so long it could be many reasons like:
- Revenge. Some people want to give him a taste of how it feels to have people supporting you & loving you then expose you and have them all hate you. Some people want to kick you off your high horse.
- Scared. They were scared and debating whether they should or should not write about it.
There are possibilities that the victims are anti-fans or lying. But I wouldn't even write it as a reason because at that point, they're not a victim, but a bully.

Now there are cases, where the bully does apologize early on and victim accepts the apology. Sometimes they don't accept it. I personally think that bully shouldn't be harassed in that case unless it was something severe that requires consequences.

I think being a bully in elementary, middle, or high school cannot be excused as "being young".
You have to face consequences for your actions is what I believe in. That's a way for you to learn not to do something that is wrong no matter what your circumstances are. MOST kids will stop after experiencing the consequences. Some won't, but I won't get into that.

The celebrities being punished for something they weren't punished for as a kid is karma and setting an example. Kids who see it may think twice about their actions and apologize earlier instead of letting a victim suffer long-term. There's lots of people who feel that being rich or celebrity makes them untouchable. So kids who aim to be famous can know that their career can be affected if they bully.

Replacing the actor is better than dropping the drama entirely, I guess.
I wonder how they will do it though. Will they re-film the entire drama with a new actor or have the new actor re-film scenes from where the drama left off? They have to put in a lot of work so I hope it pays off for them.
At least we all should know that the "People can change" or "He was young" argument can't be used with him. If what the production crew member said is true + Ji Soo's vague letter stating he has a dark past, then it seems like he hasn't changed.
I hope the agency comes out with a clear and detailed statement. They claimed to be investigating. All we have is an apology where he doesn't confirm the allegations but says "dark past".
They should release the results of the investigation and he should face the consequences based off the investigation results.

I did not like Ji Kang Woo at all in the start. It was annoying how we as viewers already found out that he loved someone who looks like Yeon Seo and he kept getting in between Dan and Yeon Seo. I just found that irritating (ik it's a love triangle but still). I started to pity him after knowing his story, but he kept on trying to split them apart and what he did to Ni Na was also messed up. I wasn't irritated when Hu (Dan's senior) was trying to stop Dan, but seeing Kang Woo was just irritating. But the last two episodes, made me less irritated with Kang Woo.
I never quite understood the part of Yeon Seo dying twice. When Dan told her she jumped off the bridge to die. So she tried to jump off, but lived somehow or did she die? Was the first time she jumped off the bridge was after her parents died or when she lost her sight?
The other part I didn't quite like/understand was the whole religious aspect they threw in here?
At some points, it felt like they were trying to be preachy and talk about morals from a religious point of view. And then sometimes it felt like they were trying to stray away from faith. Then the ending seemed to tie in faith again.
Also, Ru Na's character was eh. She was emotionless at the start, but it never really looked like she did all that for Ni Na's sake. Nor was it convincing that she was doing out of greed. It's like she never had a purpose. The ending where Yeon Seo explains to Ru Na confirmed how she wasn't doing those bad deeds for Ni Na. But that's it really.
I'm glad we got a happy ending though. I was worried this drama sort of reminded me of Uncontrollably Fond. The part where they have limited time and when one of them dies before the other. I'm glad this wasn't tragic.

Overall, I also think the drama was pretty good. Shin Hye Sun's acting is great as always. I saw some reviews/comments about how they didn't like KMS's acting. I think he did alright. The character he delivered was good enough for me. I actually liked the drama because of the chemistry between the FL & ML. Their interactions and scenes were what had me into this drama. I also like how they tied ballet to the story. There were a couple of parts I didn't like and only 2 episodes I felt were dragging so I played it on 1.5x-2x speed, but that's it.

Yeah I noticed some people make up their minds immediately while reading a few sentences instead of reading the whole thing. It's like they just stop reading at one point and start typing.

Nobody's comparing Wonho's drug allegations to their bullying allegations and calling it same. All that's being said is that people already make the decision to hate one side without knowing all the facts and only one side of the story that isn't verified. In Wonho's case, if people didn't blacklist him immediately, he would still be with MonstaX and his career wouldn't have been affected as much. The point is that people can't be patient. No one is saying not to show support for the victim. But the support shouldn't be showing hostility to the opposing side till everything is confirmed. And if you don't want to look at Wonho's case
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6888873/Man-spent-five-months-prison-ex-fianc-e-falsely-accused-rape-finds-love-again.html
there's cases like these out there in the world. Multiple cases like these where people get jailed for YEARS (this guy got out in months). But years for a crime they didn't commit and were proven innocent later. That's why it's best to not immediately hate someone for something that isn't proven yet.
If all these accusations are proven to be true, then yes that person's career should be ruined and justice should be delivered.

For me, no. I've seen others say they think FL matures. I dropped this drama twice. Once at ep 11. Came back few days ago watched till Ep. 21 and dropped. So I skipped through last episode.
Imo, no she doesn't grow up. She acts immaturely throughout the drama.
Also she resembles one of those partners who go crazy over seeing their spouse with the opposite sex. Trust issues & possessiveness.
People like it bc ML is so devoted, but honestly, I feel like a regular guy would just explode with her constant doubts of him seeing another woman when he is loyal