10/10 casting (maybe 9.5), all child actors across different years/timeline has been excellent and perfectly reflects…
Fan Chengcheng is decent and definitely not bad but could be better. The older actors acting are definitely in another league which makes him look more bad than it is. The actor you mentioned is too old for this role.
One of the best dramas on this site, very underrated. This series reminded me of reply 1988 which I absolutely love. The main leads had an amazing chemistry and like reply 1988, it also had very good humor. The ending was also an happy one, I was satisfied with it.
But the female lead has emotional connections with everyone around her, hetfellow business partners who she calls…
I know these dramas tend to have some shallow plot to make these tropes justified but there is a reason why most cdramas tend to start good then become uninteresting and dumb as the show goes on. These tropes are often the main reason for that as they show up after initial epsiodes and can potentially spoil the entire show for some viewers.
This is another drama where scriptwriters can only show fl as ambitious and strong by making her only care about her life/carrer/independent and be indifferent towards the ml, then have fl share screen time with 2ml/3rd to make ml jealous. Ironically the ml in this type of dramas always start with strong and powerful person with ambition, then the moment he falls in love, the scriptwriters take away all his ambition and turn him into a pathetic simp who cannot live without the fl.
I would be fine with this type of trope if fl ends up alone as or even with 2ml/3ml but it's obvious this won't ever happen at all which make me wonder why this trope exists in most of the dramas recently? I asked chat gpt and it gave a very descriptive answer, posted the response below.
Gender Stereotypes: Historically, female characters were either portrayed as weak or dependent, so emphasizing the female lead’s career or ambition became a way to make her "strong" or independent. However, this often leads to an extreme where her ambition is her only defining trait, and emotional connections, especially with the male lead, are sidelined.
Conflict-Driven Drama: Love triangles or jealousy plots are a go-to for creating tension. Having the female lead focused on her career while another male enters the picture creates easy conflict, which can be appealing for a broad audience. It also adds emotional complexity for the male lead, who feels the pressure of competition.
Simplified Character Arcs: Rather than allowing both leads to develop holistically, scriptwriters sometimes fall into the trap of reducing characters for plot purposes. The male lead, originally introduced as ambitious and strong, is often reduced to being "obsessed" with the female lead to amplify the drama. Meanwhile, the female lead’s emotional distance is often used to highlight her independence, without giving her more depth.
Romantic Obsession: The "pathetic simp" portrayal of the male lead feeds into a narrative where a man’s ambition is sidelined for love. This overemphasizes romance as the pinnacle of his character's arc, weakening his original traits, which were often shown as powerful or successful.
That is the way it will be for most female centric dramas I have watched Like wise for male centric dramas that…
What you have mentioned is probably the biggest reason why I was not able to finish even a single drama this year. The last two dramas which I finished and enjoyed was Hidden love and When I Fly Towards You, both these dramas don't have the issues you mentioned.
I would be fine with this type of trope if fl ends up alone as or even with 2ml/3ml but it's obvious this won't ever happen at all which make me wonder why this trope exists in most of the dramas recently? I asked chat gpt and it gave a very descriptive answer, posted the response below.
Gender Stereotypes: Historically, female characters were either portrayed as weak or dependent, so emphasizing the female lead’s career or ambition became a way to make her "strong" or independent. However, this often leads to an extreme where her ambition is her only defining trait, and emotional connections, especially with the male lead, are sidelined.
Conflict-Driven Drama: Love triangles or jealousy plots are a go-to for creating tension. Having the female lead focused on her career while another male enters the picture creates easy conflict, which can be appealing for a broad audience. It also adds emotional complexity for the male lead, who feels the pressure of competition.
Simplified Character Arcs: Rather than allowing both leads to develop holistically, scriptwriters sometimes fall into the trap of reducing characters for plot purposes. The male lead, originally introduced as ambitious and strong, is often reduced to being "obsessed" with the female lead to amplify the drama. Meanwhile, the female lead’s emotional distance is often used to highlight her independence, without giving her more depth.
Romantic Obsession: The "pathetic simp" portrayal of the male lead feeds into a narrative where a man’s ambition is sidelined for love. This overemphasizes romance as the pinnacle of his character's arc, weakening his original traits, which were often shown as powerful or successful.