Kim Yoonmi 김윤미 金潤美

Accusations of no romance... so I'm going to cover how this is not true, and how chill and slow burn the romance is by citing incidents and episodes.

I don't think Alan's suited to the main role. He would have to play someone who is stiff, not warm, and someone who can be a cold calculating business man. And so far from what I've seen of him, he radiates a natural sort of melting warmth about him. It would be difficult for him to play that role in his current abilities. I can't see him as cold CEO type, which is what the role calls for.

Alan Fang is really good at the slightly dorky, warm, but thoughtful type of male role. (Sleepwalking...) That's who they wanted for the second lead, which fits with the character write up.

I think, instead, people just don't quite get the main male character's write up well enough. Had a ton of trauma, and then built his business from the ground up. So he has to be cold, calculating and distant.... until FL comes in.

>Maybe, a future tragedy will spark their romance.

Kinda seems like you're looking for the 5-act structure in this comment, over recognizing it's a 4-act structure and the movement is from self-realization, which is set out very nicely in the first 4 episodes this is definitely the case, especially later with the competition between them.

Especially when you say the story is "bland" those are indications of someone not knowing that 4-act structures exist and expecting that the plot be driven by high amounts of conflict. But that's not the point of this drama, it's more like seeing how they grow, self-realize and actualize through their interactions. This is what 4-act structure excels at.

That's why I pointed towards ignorance, rather than just plain telling you that you were wrong. Because I often see that complaint towards 4-act structure because they are watching for the wrong thing.

Romance starts in episode 17 and warms up in episode 18. It's 47 episodes, so I expect a super slow burn. It's also not a heart-pounder, but more slice of life with the 4-act structure. So if you're looking for high conflict that's the wrong story structure.

I forgot to add... You can also find more about Chinese Lit on the Chinese Literature podcast which is run by two brothers (IIRC) who debate over Chinese Literature and talk about forms, philosophies of the time, movements, break down meanings, etc. I really find their analyses interesting. Like there was one where they spent the entire time covering Chinese ideas of Utopia and the flaws with them backed with Chinese history. Like one where this guy thought that women should all be sequestered together, and be basically baby factories while the men were free to do art and study. And they were ripping through how unfair that was to the women, etc... but how the writer still thought it was a Utopia. Another was on different movements of Tang Poetry and they were debating if Tang was really the highest form of Chinese poetry with one of them saying yes and why... and the other saying it's kinda equivalent to loving Shakespeare, but never really reading him. You know it's good when it pauses to make you think. Or you need to pause it to analyze it.

You're welcome. i hope you have as much fun as I did learning about them. I'm sure there are more out there given the long, long history of China, but many of those texts aren't translated/accessible to find out what they were. And both of those story structures are rather late to Chinese history.

It's quite interesting that the dramatic structure born out of Chinese poetry, expanded into a dramatic structure for stories.... and for each country it's been imported to, they disagree on what the structure is.

But I really, really like qǐ chéng zhuǎn hé (起承转合) for things like self-reflection, and to fill the moments of lull in between by trying to collect together what has just happened. It's particularly used a ton in Chinese flashback structures. And it enhances slice of life and those moments that are far more heavily psychological in nature very well. Because the whole structure is about introspection. The best use of this in this drama, I'd argue is in the development of Aoyi, as a character. It's her drinking in episode 22, that you find out what she really thinks and possibly why. It's never explicitly stated. And there are silent nudges to the character done this way.

I've been collecting dramatic structures, because it's always fun to see how people think a story "should" be.

Korea interprets the same structure differently... and it's best shown in the recent drama 18 again, which shows the contrast between the original which had a 5-act structure and the Korean version of it... Introduction/raising issues-->Working on the problem in oneself-->Reversal or return-->Result.

And then Japan does it in Kishotenketsu. Introduction-->Development--> Twist (something you didn't expect)--> Conclusion. Best shown in Miyazaki films. The reason those films make you cry so hard is because the story structure is kishotenketsu. Japanese particularly like to use the structure ot bring out the Warm and Fuzzy feelings and gut punch you.

Anyway, if you take it this way, the main character is really Long Aoyi, ultimately. (She self-realizes the most.) Because she's the one that arcs the most through this development (if you watched the raws). Qingliu does arc, as well, but not as much.

I also made the argument, too, that often story structures reflect the religions of the time period they were invented. In this case, this type of 4-act kinda reflects a lot of Buddhism's ideals.

Another you might want to investigate is the "Dream Record" which also shifted when it was imported to Korea from Ming China. That one breaks all of the "rules" about how to "properly" write a story. Starts with a dream just before death. Talks about regrets. And the sense of time and structure is often not beholden to the usual rules at all (Because of this Korea synchronized it heavily with the native shamanistic religion Mugyo, which has similar beliefs about how time operates). It's more thematic structuring around the "regrets" part of it. I remember a Korean version in Another Miss Oh is structured often this way. But Chinese dramas--I haven't seen one like this yet. The important piece of Literature--Romance of the Three Kingdoms is structured this way according to a text I read.

Episode 22. I did dislike the "Instant! Prince" and BTW, she's probably a long distant cousin of the King by being a Noble anyway because her Sifu's Sifu was likely her father or related. (They are probably distant cousins then.. lol) I was invested into the silk trade aspects. I thought the Instant! Prince angles felt like it was hinted at before, but it still felt too Deus Ex Machina.

So I felt it could have been handled better overall. The sudden shift didn't feel right because they never kicked that Lord's butt properly and I wanted that cathartic moment. They were building to it and then it felt cheap.

Episode 21 definitely had the confession scenes and most of the romance culminating from previous episodes, which were small shots here and there. The justifications for why Long Aoyi didn't immediately say yes are also buried pretty well in the previous episodes with a relatively good explanation--class divide and also a lack of trust he'd stick around. This is why she keeps sticking in business into the discussions every time he gets close to confessing. She knows, covered in Episode 22. And for the traditional Chinese romance, her knowing and him knowing are enough.

I think the reason for the sudden shift in direction is likely the writer was doing it on deadlines. It feels like a deadline hit and the end of the series was in sight with the count of chapters left, and boom. I have to do something to keep my numbers up kind of moment. Because the drop wasn't as organic as the dramatic structure dictates it should be. I'm hoping they wriggle out of the royal plot... but given episode 30, that might not be likely. 转 is the processing of hardships, etc. But the lessons learned and the return would be nice... where he gives up his title to be the silk merchant he always wanted to be with her by his side. We'll see what the "result" part of it is when episode 31-36 drop.

The main complaints are as follows from the commenters:
- The slow burn romance. (or accusations of its absence because Idol dramas have ruined your senses).
- Alan Fang should be the lead.
- Leon Lai can't act.
- Lack of character development? Especially on the female lead.
- OMG Bai Lu... some female actor has terrible clothes/make up/unfeminist comment about women need to be prettier.
And of course the spoiler from episode 22... but let's tackle these.

Let's take these one by one.

The slow burn romance. Yes, it's slow. It's also very traditional Chinese style. The idea of romance as in the Eurocentric version with the 5-act structure is pretty much an adaptation of two major sources: Tudor Imaginary of Greeks because they were in Moor Denial. And the Islamic Empire with the troubadours, which, BTW, is 100% Islamic in origin coming from Al Andalus. So... yeah, read some Chinese literature because it shouldn't be a big shocker that not everyone does romance, as a genre traditionally, the same way. This fits very, very neatly into the older Chinese roots of how Chinese tend to imagine romance. In real life, no one would say, "Wo Ai ni" like that anyway. It's a new fangled thing that comes with Idol romances, which tend to blend in more of the Eurocentric mindset. Again, it's not inferiority or superiority, it's different and equal, and you should at least try to understand it.

And yeah, there was romance and romantic scenes, but a lot of them were deliberate, emotional, but not heart-pounders. Episode 21 I thought was pretty romantic... but I'm not going to mark this as spoiler, so I'm not saying what.

- The idea Alan Fang should be lead.
Watch Love By Hypnotic then. He clearly took this role knowing he'd be second lead. He's playing to what the director wants him to do. I get sometimes people want the visuals, but I think he's wholly suited to playing the prince he's playing.

- Leon Lai can't act.
He's playing stiff and upright because the director is obviously telling him to. Did you see the BTS? There's one where they are on set and he literally swaggers towards Bai Lu. There's respect and professionalism between them. He also makes jokes she laughs to. If you object to him taking that sort of sheer charisma out (and mind you I'm talking factually rather than like I'm big fan crush, because that makes no sense to me) then it's the director's fault. The BTS shows he's really good at charisma when he turns it on. But obviously because of the character write up, he can't play to those strengths. (His set up is that he can't touch women and is awkward around them...)

- Lack of female character development.
I know Bai Lu's real age, but given the cues, I think she's supposed to be 16 (I really don't buy it, but whatever). The character development, if you haven't noticed isn't being done by conflict, because the dramatic structure is not a 5 act structure. So it's been done mostly in those quiet moments you're probably skipping through. She's matured as a person, but it's been very low key. She started out as a ruffian, couldn't get any manners, and was not very into business beyond her gang. But she developed later into finding out she had other talents, grew her business acumen (Covered in episode 21 and explicitly said) And has grown emotionally as a character, though slowly through realization. We're dealing with qǐ chéng zhuǎn hé (起承转合) here. 22, if you haven't noticed was the start of the 转 phase where there was a sudden hardship to the romance. (How well that was or wasn't done is up to you to decide)

Male lead, likewise also developed as a character. Also, coincidentally covered in episode 21. [Cottage Fight scene--I coded the spoiler. You know what I mean.]

- Last one...

I don't get the pure obsession over people trying to evaluate women strictly on their appearance. I do think the eyeliner is excessive on ALL characters male and female, overly consistently. However, I'm not going to assess the viability of a woman's career based on a makeup artist's choice. I'm going to judge an actress on *gasp* how she acts. I know, it's a shock. How well does she convey the character? If she does so well that I don't have to understand a single word to say for her to hit me... I'm going to celebrate that, not go on and on about her make up. Not on how much or well she dresses to convey the character, which are decisions not in her hands anyway. Can we lay off the unfeminist comments about a woman's sheer talent is based on the makeup or clothes she wears and not how those things could be conveying the character?

So I'll cover 22... in spoilers.

Given the BTS, I don't think it's Leon Lai's fault. I think it's the director's fault. The director seems to want Li Qing Liu to be upright, to be scholarly. To have careful thought and speech unlike Li Zhao. They are what are technically called foils of each other.

Given Leon Lai showed some serious swagger in his normal stroll and was much looser in the BTS, joking around, and using buckets of charisma on set... it's likely a director decision.

I like both actors--Alan Fang was really good in Love By Hypnotic, but I realize they are both at the mercy of the director on the performance they are supposed to deliver.

It's all packed into episode 21. Him trying to confess. It's understated romance type, which is more traditional to Chinese dramas. It's a game of you know I know that you know what my feelings are. And I know that you know that I know what your feelings are for me, which is more realistic to Chinese culture.

Legend of Xiao Chuo is slated to have a super sad ending just from the set up and even less romance... considering the span of episodes.

Watch to episode 21 so you see the semi-confession.

6 episodes left... so they might still return to being overlords.

I made a comment on Youtube later about it... and all the unjustified hate. If you're going to hate her, I think you shouldn't hate her for the wrong reasons, like "she didn't quit her job once she got married" and she should "just understand men are more jealous than women." Or "her and her stupid dream" or she's just hysterical. And OMG, she in a room with 2 other people let a man touch her hair while acting out a scene when she thought he had a girl he liked. *cry* while watching a drama where 2 actors kiss over and over for their entertainment.

*eyeroll*

As I said, hate her for the right reasons, like not sitting down with Boyan and trying to discuss in a pointed way what they should do next. Itemize that list because she's a writer, write it down. Open the communication more. And it's not like some of the people who said it's not a Chinese thing, since Perfect and Casual showed that it is a Chinese thing. It could have been done...

If you want to argue just to argue and fail to realize it's also the same IP author and failed to actually watch Love by Hypnotic and failed to realize the wide references to it, I'm not here for that. But it's to let you know this is true. Both are set in a fantasy world, and the same one.

It's set in the same world... Love by Hypnotic. There are references to Dongyue in Love by Hypnotic because it's written by the same screenwriter. Because they are connected, that's why Li Qian and Pugu Yunsi will show up in this one, connecting the two stories together.

It's the one where the woman is chronically sick and needs blood transfusions but one of the bags of blood was contaminated... thus leading to the ending.

I thought the beginning was fine, but the ending was questionable because nothing resolved and they'd been arguing the same thing for months. I mean I've seen where arguments are productive and get things in to evolve moving forward (Love is All, for example, has a few examples of shouting arguments that move things along), but they kept grinding on the same points. I suppose, since I understand somewhat... that maybe the writer didn't understand their characters fast enough? Because I thought the underlying trauma of Boyan feeling like everyone would leave him didn't really get cured at all and he needed therapy on trust issues. If he was able to expand his friend base, also expand his trust, then the conflict dissolves.

And for Jianan, I don't think I quite believed that she suddenly trusted in her talents because the conversation between her and her father was mostly about how Boyan was absent, but I would have liked a sweet talk between them about how he recognizes her as a writer and says she's truly talented and he's glad to have her as a daughter. (He'll give the company to her sister if she wants it or find a better successor).

A little more punch on the ending would have worked, but I recognize some writers are terrible at it and have trouble getting past the premise.

I think a bit of the hatred was justified, but the reasoning behind it was terrible. (Mostly from Youtube channel)

Someone actually said she should have quit her job after marrying Boyan and should have sacrificed for him. And I was like... that's not how marriage works.

They were definitely both at fault for the way things escalated, no doubt, but hating on her for having a dream (Someone said "Stupid dream" while actually watching a drama by a writer and a scriptwriter and also hating on her for acting out a scene where the producer touched her hair... I just couldn't get it, so they're fine with watching a drama which has people who do those things, but not fine with the characters in the drama? The amount of cognitive dissonance is really big on that. So hate on script writers who have dreams... and hate on people who, for work have to act out scenes with the opposite sex... but watch a drama that has kissing in it.

Real life actors negotiate those things with their partners/spouses...

I think if you're going to hate on Jianan, you should hate her for not trying to clarify their relationship earlier around the time she got the diamond ring and asking where are we in this relationship, and what is it that you want out of it? Which is the exact same fault Boyan had... (Though him being controlling on and off would have also been solved through this kind of communication.)

Boyan probably would have said, "I view this relationship as we're married and committed."

And Jianan would have said, "We haven't gone on that many dates together--this feels a bit fast for me and we're going to break up when the contract is over. And I have a career that I have not achieved. I feel like you achieved your career, so I need you to trust me."

This leaves Boyan to come up with dates and ways to draw boundaries that are healthy, and then Jianan could say what she wants out of her career, why, and how she wants him to participate or not participate. Then push him towards having friends. Like severely push him towards having friends outside of the relationship and work. They talk over the contract, what they want and think over it again. And Boyan could confess he's been supporting her from the beginning and that's why he chose his career, and then she could said, "But still... I will adhere to reasonable boundaries like checking in with you past X time when I'm out... but I would like some space to feel like I've become acknowledged for my talents, and I feel like your success hinders that."

So then they discuss and bicker through the way to work through the boundaries of that, and renegotiate if something new comes up.

If those things would have happened, I'd have believed the ending more. This discussion should have happened around episode 16, if my memory serves right, and then throw events to shake up Boyan's career and make Jianan realize how precious Boyan actually is, then steady Jianan for the finale, make them come back together after a separation due to work and done.