Douban opened at strong 6.8. More reviews coming in on MDL here indicating a smaller segment of the audience didn’t…
Thanks for replying! Yeah I know, it's hard to find dramas consistently good from start to finish with no drop of quality or outright crashing at the end... and period idol dramas don't really excel at writing politics. I'll keep watching, hopefully I won't drop this one like I did with Blossom. I like the characters more here
Douban opened at strong 6.8. More reviews coming in on MDL here indicating a smaller segment of the audience didn’t…
It's currently 6.6. Also I wouldn't call a 6.8 strong... I was surprised because I was expecting at least a 7, if not an 8. I was wondering if it had crashed in the finale or something because it's very good so far imo
This drama is so good! Such good writing, good pacing, smart leads who talk to each other (!!) and clear up misunderstandings quickly (!!), and so full of heartwarming moments. I love the (current) friendship between the leads, the romance buildup is so natural and not forced. I love that they're both reasonable and intelligent. And the VR world bits are what makes the drama even more special, especially how the VR events starts to integrate with the real world dynamics. The bad guy is a lil cliché but it's okay lol, I hope he won't get in the way of the main relationship too much with his plotting.
The things I dread the most are 1) some kind of "childhood connection" plot between the leads coming up because I hate those, 2) ML's tragic past becomes too cliché, 3) dumb misunderstandings between ML and FL where they also suddenly turn dumb. But fingers crossed that the writing stays solid, the leads stay smart, and none of this happens
i love this drama but i hate "childhood connection" plots too. that was the only downer for me. and she…
Thanks for replying!! Omg, I'm surprised she stays his secretary even after becoming his wife. That's so weird, and not really an equal relashionship... I thought Ji Ah would take that role and she would be more like a partner in running the company with him
I dropped this around ep 9 because it got boring and I hate "childhood connection" plots, but I'm curious about something. Is she still his secretary at the end, or does she leave her job after they get married?
Those comments are referring to a specific case midway through the series - episode 14-18, so you might already…
Thanks for replying. I ended up watching the case in question. Lu Ling Feng's reaction towards the scholar he thought was having an affair with another man was a bit too excessive, and I definitely felt a slight subtext of "the fact that it's with another man makes it more immoral". However, afterwards you do have other "good" characters like Xijun criticising him for the excessive reaction.
Then, at one point there's a character calling the idea of the two men having an affair "two animals", but he's a villan so you could justify it with that.
Overall, I did read homophobic subtext in the writing, however it's never too overt, more like culturally embedded perhaps, and if you choose to, you can always chalk it up to the single characters' beliefs as not all the characters express the same homophobic views.
I saw comments saying this series is homophobic, is this true? I don't expect to see BL in a series like this, but I don't want to run into homophobia later on. I'm on episode 15 and currently deciding whether to drop this or continue watching
Just finished this. Very solid start, but after the first trial the drama started dragging for me. Then the reveal about the ML's past was the nail in the coffin, it felt so stalker-ish and not realistic for this kind of story. I give it a 7/10 for the first half and for how well it treats societal issues like representing r*pe victims, but I wish it didn't have the FL and ML childhood plotline.
As someone who is not here for any actor or numbers but just trying to find a good story, I gotta say this drama is really well done, probably the best one currently airing (as of episode 5). Really solid production quality, pacing, and story, never boring. Also surprised by the hints of BL hidden here and there lol.
Just finished this drama. Very good, probably the best contemporary short drama since Reset. It dragged a bit starting from episode 9, though, with unnecessary long episodes. And the ending sucked. It didn't work neither as a happy ending nor as a sad ending, just terrible.
Hold up, hold up, hold up. Did my ears deceive me or did she not say, I am so happy you are alive. Now, why the…
It's because the last time she saw the white haired dude, she had stabbed him in the chest, so she didn't know if he had survived. Of course she also suspects he is Jin'an at the end of episode 10, but it's more because of white haired dude repeating something Jin'an told her.
Chu Guihong the most annoying second ML of 2025... I can't stand him. Yeah I know they wrote him like this and even make fun of his character's dullness at one point but omg. On episode 29 and he's reached the peak of insufferability
The things I dread the most are 1) some kind of "childhood connection" plot between the leads coming up because I hate those, 2) ML's tragic past becomes too cliché, 3) dumb misunderstandings between ML and FL where they also suddenly turn dumb. But fingers crossed that the writing stays solid, the leads stay smart, and none of this happens
Then, at one point there's a character calling the idea of the two men having an affair "two animals", but he's a villan so you could justify it with that.
Overall, I did read homophobic subtext in the writing, however it's never too overt, more like culturally embedded perhaps, and if you choose to, you can always chalk it up to the single characters' beliefs as not all the characters express the same homophobic views.
Glad to hear it's just in this particular case.