TheMoonEmpress

Oh yeah, waiting absolutely sucks, especially if it's as addictive a drama as ARRTI. I am a serial binge watcher myself. Cdramas are usually not that good at hooking me in so I don't have a problem in waiting till finishes airing. There are only a handful of Chinese drama I have actually finished watching. But ARRTI is the only cdrama that I have followed as it airs. Aaargh frustrating, but well worth it imo.

You're right, that's why I said teamwork. But what made the biggest impact on me was after Sun's adoptive mother dies. I think that was a turning point in their relationship. Chang Ge was convinced Sun would hate her for indirectly causing his mom's death but man, as soon as Sun woke up, he first thought of Chang Ge and then set out on this journey to reunite with her. That part really impressed me a lot and went a long way in making me love their relationship.

True, I can see why it worked for a lot of people. Unfortunately, didn't work on me. But i still love GeSun's relationship a lot. The amount of loyalty and teamwork that they have is remarkable. Especially the way Sun is willing to go above and beyond to save Chang Ge was truly amazing to watch.

The OST is one of the best I've heard this year. So unique and engaging. I loved all the background music for the Eastern Turks and even Sun's theme went a long way in establishing the strength of his character

Thank you, I thought I was the only one who felt 0 chemistry between the leads. I watched the first 2 episodes which iqiyi released on YT and i was waiting for the chemistry to click for me, it never did. Latter clips were also pretty lukewarm. Isn't this supposed to be a romantic drama?

I haven't watched it yet. Currently watching A River Runs Through It which gives me the same vibes as Reply 1988 , lots of similar strengths although in ARRTI, the romance does not take as much of a backseat. It is still driven by nostalgia, friendship, neighborhood and, most importantly, trials and tribulations of youth. I love that drama so much, it's about to finish airing and I'm looking for something similar to cure my hangover of it. Since you said this one too reminds you of Reply 1988, I might give it a go.

Lots of second hand embarrassment lol

Both Huang Jun and Lin You turned out to be very flawed. The two actual romantic relationships in the drama suffered major setbacks. It makes me appreciate the friendship aspect of this drama even more because, by god, no matter what rocky and curvy path Shiyi and Xiaoju go through in their relationship, their trust, care and dependence on each other make for a solid foundation. Even now, with new elements added to their relationship after Shiyi's confession, they're able to maintain their closeness even while employing immature and impulsive tactics to get what each of them want (Xiaoju hurts Shiyi using Cheng Lang's name and Shiyi literally blackmails her into being his pretend girlfriend; even though he's helping her out of a fix at the time....they're both naive and tenacious about what each of them think is right for their relationship.) But throughout it all, there's no doubt about their close friendship. I like that longevity and solidity more than the romantic relationships portrayed in the drama.

We're heading towards a plot twist, I can feel it because of what we've seen in the drama trailer. I think he does move on or leaves, because Xiaoju says in a future scene "now it's too late"

Yes, he was just such a well written and well performed character that I couldn't help but root for him and feel for him. Oh well, I respect the writer's decision but in my heart, Jung Hwan will always be special. Anyway, I can't believe we're having such a lengthy discussion about Reply 1988 on another drama's page lol.

I know what you're saying, taek did need her and she was always there for him. But that's still not enough for me to surpass everything that happened between jung hwan and deok sun. The way he took care of every small thing and pampered her without her even knowing.... Aah my heart was completely engaged in their story. Their relationship was fleshed out more, jung hwan got more screen time and character development than Taek. Plus they even had sparks of passion between them that was cute to see at their young adult age (i still think about that narrow alleyway scene when they are hiding from their pursuers and it's been years since I've seen the drama). Hence, I did have a problem with the ending. I am not saying Taek was wrong for her or her feelings for him weren't justified. I just wasn't sold on their relationship in the end, that's it.

Maybe we see it differently. All the scenes you mentioned were very meaningful for me too so they're definitely impactful. It didn't ring the same bell with me, that's it. They're written beautifully as characters, with all the details that you mentioned...still I really wasn't sold on their chemistry.

You're right, the romance was more of an enhancing flavour to an already well established and amazing set up. The strength of Reply 1988 lies in its character development, setting and lovely relationships. I think that was the crux of the drama. But I was saddened by the ending , not gonna lie. It was a head scratching moment for me.

To give you an example, even Hao Du and Le Yan don't have overtly romantic scenes between them, but their 2 hugs are so incredibly romantic and filled with chemistry. I didn't get that vibe from Chang Ge and Sun.

I actually don't mind the fake kiss, I know many people did. No, for me it was not about those 'romantic' gestures. I know they were very important to each other and in their case, protecting each other was about life and death which makes it even more intense. I just didn't sense any 'man and woman' kind of love between them. I don't know how to explain it. It just seemed very platonic to me. I know it worked for many people and I am glad about that. But for me the chemistry was more like a platonic but a very solid and dependable relationship between the two. I have seen many hug scenes which are incredibly romantic so I know hugs can also go a long way in creating chemistry. But, for me, their hugs also did not seem all that romantic. I guess, it just didn't work out for me.

Yeah those animation scenes were quite the cop out. I don't really remember the arrow shooting scenes all that much so I guess they were not as memorable for me. But, man, the sword fighting scenes between Sun and Sher and Sher and Hao Du were epic. Felt so real.
My only tiff with the drama is that i didn't feel the chemistry between Chang ge and Sun. I know it worked for many people, many people liked their chemistry. But it just did not work for me. Otherwise the character development wise, this is the best historical drama of 2021.

None of the other historical dramas of 2021 have come close to the scale of TLB. You could see the commitment of everyone involved in the project in terms of script, character development, acting (some could've been better) and action. The action scenes were some of best I've seen in an historical setting, reminded me of the legendary fighting scenes from the kdrama Six Flying Dragons. Although the fighting scenes of TLB didn't reach the pinnacleof SFD, they were still so impressive 😍😍 i was impressed by Sun, Sher and Hao Du. Their fighting scenes looked so believable 😍

I have watched. It's my favorite from the Reply series... I like it quite a lot but the ending and the cannon relationship threw me off , I didn't find it believable at all. I got a huge second male lead syndrome from it. Her chemistry with Jung Hwan was something else. Luckily, A River Runs Through It cured me of it lol.

Wan Peng and Gala Zhang worked together again in Love Like White Jade

I am having a hangover of A River Runs Through It even though 4 episodes are still remaining in it (I already miss all the characters, especially my favorite couple😭) and since that drama too gave me strong Reply 1988 vibes, I think I will check this one next if it's similar to that. I hope it can give me the same nostalgic feeling, with good character development and interplay between the characters and their relationships just like ARRTI 😍