Ahjummai

so i skimmed thru the novel to look at hot steamy it is based on what folks here have been saying. and there's a part there where she said she wishes her eyes were expressive.
so it's not WCR being a bad actress and not having expressive eyes. the character is written like that. I think WCR is doing a good job with the character she's portraying tho. And I think there's enough push and pull chemistry happening between YY and WCR as needed.

i thought so too. WCR actually has an ig post of a pic with moon ga young, but they don't look alike so much hahaha maybe it's the same vibe

I think we should not only consider that ML walked away, but FL did not hang on to him. She could have lied to keep him, but she didn't. She also told her brother that she felt she can only hurt him.
In the end, at this point in time, THEY BOTH chose to not be together. They are both not ready.
ML may have said that he can bear it all, but can he really? Also, I think he has some issues to work on himself. He always takes the blame for what happened to Sou Jun, that their situation was because he brought it upon himself, not telling fl everything that happened before. That's a flaw.

Asian culture. Lucky few have families with more liberal thinking. There's a lot of emphasis on filial obligations without consideration on whether the families deserve being filial to.
Take into consideration that girl who wanted to kill herself and how strangers reacted to her and calling her unfilial.
For FL, it's even more complicated with her being adopted and then "trained" to be obedient. Her family demands her being filial. Society supports her family's demands. Even at work where she's proven herself to be a good surgeon, there's still her family's meddling that makes people think she's just as good as her connections. She has a lot to process and tbh that's what i want to see.

What's more is that FL knows her trauma. A part of her wants to break free from that trauma, but she's still not strong enough. That's why she's going back and forth with the ML. Breaking free of one's trauma is not a one time decision and boom you're free.
So I don't understand why others just write her off as unredeemable.

coz heaven forbid falling in love with someone who is broken who also happens to love the person back but still has issues to overcome.
why you put him on a pedestal as if he's perfect puppy dog in love with rose colored glasses on... coz i don't see song yan like that. if he were too naive and love-struck, would he have given her an ultimatum in ep11?

That trained animal dialogue hurts. She knows it's conditioning, but she knows she's not strong enough to break her conditioning. All she can do on her own is prove that she's good at her profession despite her mom trying to influence people around her to her detriment.

many cdramas start with fl head over heels with ml and will abandon everything for ml. i like that xuqin may be in love with him but she's not recklessly in love to the point of being impractical about it. but she can't help herself trying to win him over, after all she's been clinging on to that promised love for so long.

right? if the drama really doesn't appeal to them then drop it. but if you're curious enough then trust the storytelling. there are plenty details scattered throughout the different scenes. i dislike adopted mom on my screen, but watching her scenes give me more understanding of xuqin's psyche.

sometimes I wonder why some viewers don't get that 10 years ago was just graduating from high school. this isn't in other society where you're on your own after high school. at that age, how could she have chosen him over her adopted family's pressure? one doesn't need to understand her completely, but why some people can't even empathize with the young xuqin idk.

they do a good job at showing ml still likes her, but there are hidden reasons why he's hesitating (more than just the sudden break up). if he didn't and he likes someone else, then she's really usual ml-chasing sfl lols

coz she talked to both mom and dad, and both couldn't support her if she pursued her love. she's been traumatized enough by adopted mom to be abandoned if she misbehaves. like she said in ep10, she's not ready to lose everything if he's not going to reach out to her.
meanwhile, she never knew how much he tried and what her family did (she keeps asking her family if she received letters while she was studying abroad) and song yan isn't telling her either.

piracy tho

It's often frustrating when mid-series, people are asking for "explanations" when you've got to trust the storytelling. And then there are those saying they fast forward scenes like how can you understand all the layers of the story if you're not going to watch it in its entirety then say you don't like it.

Viu Philippines

Episodes 1-6 available now on Viu with English subs

Viu Philippines just posted. July 6 start
https://twitter.com/Viu_PH/status/1675738640151089152

the funniest part is how they are acting with such serious straight faces but funny lines. i would burst out laughing if it were me. the actors are such pros. i'm drawn in by this humor without being comedic.

Yes. Some loose ends not explained, but yes.

Mortal arc is a bit draggy, but that's when ML chases after FL and all those hot kisses escalating each time /swoon/