Sam Arora

Haha thank you so much. Glad that you found my insights interesting. I've never written an article like that tbh but perhaps I'll write one cuz tbh I always wanted to have a discussion on this I mean others can tell me how their experience was through their lense.

Oi then am your sunbae it seems in Dramaland cuz I started watching in 2016 when DOTS aired and it hooked me up 😁. In my opinion Kdramas also have like 3 periodic stages when content changed drastically... first after 2013-14 when dramas started targeting more Global Audience especially South-east Asians/Asians and because channels like tvN started making shows like the Reply series, so you suddenly had fresh content with something totally different than your usual dramas.
Then after 2016-17 when DOTS and Goblin like shows aired and again cuz full fledged private networks popped-up like JTBC and OCN so again the Content Quality got better. The Budgets, Overall Production Quality, OST everything got better and that was the time when Netflix actually started licensing Kdramas. You had Tunnel, Stranger, Signal, Voice, Age of Youth, Prison Playbook, Strong Woman Do Bong-soon in this period.
Then the best happened in 2019 when Netflix actively got involved in producing/co-producing Kdramas hence you have dramas like Squid Game or Kingdom or Hospital Playlist now.
Back then I was super reluctant to watch Cdramas, whichever dramas I watched, I dropped those after E5 at best except Put Your Head on My Shoulder. They were full of dumb FLs with child-like voices, arrogant MLs, Too many side characters and sub-plots with a lotta clichés.

I did watch some Taiwanese Dramas and observed that Taiwanese make more realistic dramas. Japanese dramas though are considered as the Best when script/story and acting is taken as main aspect but I felt they're inferior in Production Quality to Kdramas. So I Started watching J-movies and some of the popular Animes 😋. Then this year I got in big slump and hence I got back to Cdramas and surprisingly I can now bear Cdramas more than the past. Dramas like Moonlight, My Little Happiness, Forever Love changed my perspective on Cdramas.

Great Article tbh!! I wouldn't watch a Republican Era drama just because I love history and I need the historic context right. I mean I know Current China is ruled/governed by Communist Party of China while Republican was under Kuomintang (Gosh I hope I spelt it right) which is ROC or Taiwan currently and I know that PRC won't show ROC in good light at all.
Also I really have a weird taste for Cdramas I mean I've dropped 70-80% of Cdramas that were aired pre-covid i.e. before 2019-20. The newer dramas are really far BETTER. Newer ones has slightly better plot, the plot is tied together well, clichés have been reduced a lil bit and the production quality, acting and OST have gotten better too. I've dropped Love 020, A Love so Beautiful, Go Go Squid and all those popular dramas aired before 2020. 😅

Almost on the verge of dropping it. For now I've put it on-hold at E22. It's too much for me now. I would anyday watch a Thriller or Fluffy Rom-com over this.... I know that this show is great and I read a lotta good reviews about this everywhere not just on MDL 😅 But still... the only reason I kept watching this was the Lead Couple and genuinely they have a great Chemistry (almost as if they were dating in real-life) but it has too many gross unlikeable characters starting with over dominant toxic Mom to a Potty-head pathetic obsessive 2nd ML (hmmm idk if he fits the 2nd ML tag) Old Brother Qin-Yue with crush on the FL. He's too MUCH for me then there's other "toxicky" side characters like Shi Ying, Zhuang Fei and Chen Yi-chuan (he's a lil bearable now) and even the FL's Dad is pathetic spineless guy. I almost dropped this show at E17 cuz I saw a clip of E18 on YT and man it made nervous 😩. But after taking a gap of 5-6 days I started watching it again but nah not bearable for me anymore.

Might come back sometime later in the Future.
Bye-bye Lin Xi and Zheng Han 🥺.

Edit: Reason why I dropped this apart from aforementioned points is I read a thread on MDL on Healthy Relationship which had Forever Love as it's subject drama and later I read some comments and watched clips on YT of how Zheng Han forgives that Shithead Qin Yue and Mr. Xu and how Lin Xi leaves him just like that which I thought showed how unimportant Zheng Han is for her. Then there's the Toxic Mom (I hope I stay single and IF I one day have a wife then I don't have a MIL like her). The show got totally unbearable after E17 with too much going on, everyone trying their best to ruin the relationship of the Leads and even the Leads not having a perfect communication, doing things on their own while thinking that it's for the good of their counterparts is insensible.

Me too I wasn't really sure how will rule in the future cuz he's too impulsive and although he has Sanqi, Ruoyao and Yifei am still not sure about his decision making. And idk where I read that he and Sanqi had a child at the end but funny enough I couldn't see one 🙃. I wish they had made a few more episodes.

Loved it!! Watched the show in 2 days on YT glad that it was available on YT!! I tbh started watching it cuz of Esther Yu (Shu Xin) and I loved the overall experience of watching it!!

Started really funny, went down a bit towards the final episodes but then gave a satisfactory happy ending. I Loved the Second Couple 😝 They were so fun!! Zhao Cuo's dad (Zhao Quandui) was so funny too 🤣

This one is great if you're looking for something comparably light and fluffy drama. OST was good too!!

Overall I feel this show needs more viewers 😅

Can't agree more just completed watching it at 2:00am in the morning lol 😂 I watched it cuz of Esther Yu but now am looking for shows of ML, 2FL and 2ML 😅

Just to add one more show to the recommendations.... You can try Moonlight!! It has a strong minded independent FL and they have a healthy relationship.

Thank you for replying!! I'll give it a try and see how it goes!!

I think it's name has been changed and Cha Seung-won and Uhm Jung-hwa have joined the cast. This show was Announced in 2019 before the pandemic and was supposed to air around 2020 but finally!!! Super Excited 😀

Uhm... I won't say it sucks but this show is really clichéd besides showing all the misogyny, fated since childhood trope, a narcissist ML and a rather submissive FL. This is one of those overrrated shows IMO.

It's actually Octagon lol One main Couple then 2 side couples, 2 Males Chasing the ML, 2 Females chasing the FL, then ML's Friend chasing one of the Females chasing the ML. Isshhh it's REALLLYYY messed-up Big Time 😰

Does it get BETTER? 😥😩
I'm at E27 and can't get beyond that.... Why are there so many extra characters going after the ML and FL. I mean there are 2-4 other couples then there's 2 other Males chasing after the FL and 2 females chasing after the ML. Then there's FL's Dad who idk why is so mad at her daughter dating the ML.

I'm on the verge of dropping it.

Does someone when is it coming and if the leads have agreed to reprise their characters? I don't wanna watch any other actor playing QQ/XQ and HS/Actor Han 😩😥

Lol I loved your description of Cow looking at a train passing 😂😂

Read the second paragraph properly you'll get what I trying to say. Han shuo's character has this grey area between good and bad which was part of the OG Plot hence what I meant is he couldn't have controlled these things.

Lol my exact thoughts 🤣 Zhao Lusi, Xu Kai, Bai Lu, Gabrielle and Song Wei Long

Aish 😕 I thought Neo will be paired with Gabrielle since they did A Girl Like Me and Lusi would be paired with Lin Yi but anyway I am totally okay with either pairings. Just waiting for it to air soon.

Yup I just hope they don't change the Leads or else they should simply drop the idea of making a Season 2. Other than that I want them to tie-up all the loose ends especially if HS in real world was same and does he actually love XQ or is it only HS's memories that are retained by Actor Han in the modern era cuz then it's possible that Actor Han doesn't love XQ but HS loves QQ/XQ.

Well cuz imo she's an overrrated actor. Idk I did like Goblin back then but ever since then I felt all her projects were meh and she doesn't act all that great.