HardTruth

It happens with chinese folks. Wu jinyan got plenty of hate for 'The double' when the initial episodes aired & as episodes passed by, with stellar writing & directing, people's opinion changed drastically & she became even more popular lol. Let's hope there's a similar trajectory for Julia

It will be a HE imo.. There will be a marriage again in the end very likely coz there's a scene from one of the trailers of them with their marriage attire cuddling on bed.

True. Honestly like i said before, her character would’ve made complete sense to me if it were just an arranged marriage and they were strangers from the start. Then none of her actions would be getting this kind of criticism. It would have justified the doubts, the stabbings, the poisoning etc coz he will be just a stranger she married & not the person whom she knew inside out.

The character growth you’re talking about could’ve easily been achieved through this more logical setup too.

Sorry, but I have to disagree. I actually thought she did a solid job in LODT. But again, I’ve already acknowledged that she’s not quite a match to hold her own opposite someone as strong as Xinyue... sadly that contrast can become pretty obvious to viewers. However here it has more to do with the writing of her character itself causing the hate

Nope, your take is completely wrong & far off. She knew exactly why they were keeping her out of the cases which was for her own safety and he told her that more than once. Not because they thought she wasnt mature to handle cases yet.. And they are childhood sweethearts.. She has known him since they were kids.. Did you think they suddenly married as adults without any budding love since kids??? It's a given she knew his character inside out...So It's just bad writing no matter how you try to twist it.

It has to be HE I guess. There's another marriage scene with a kiss from one of those trailers. So likely in the end they get married again which should indicate a HE

Why I say the messy writing is part of why the lead actress is getting hate.. they started the show with this whole lovey dovey childhood sweetheart vibe between them. like seriously they made it look like they were ride or die. she even backs his plan to capture Yesha on her wedding day.. that’s how deep the trust was.

She’s known this guy forever.. knows his character inside out.. and then just like that. after 3 years. she sees him and immediately stabs him?? no real questions.. no trying to get his side first.. and even after that. her lines still kind of hint like she lowkey believes he did it?? Like the guy whom she has known all her life.. Not even getting to the whole poison thing after this

It’s giving extremely sloppy writing & it makes her look bad when it’s really the script doing her dirty.

If you were gonna go this route.. should’ve just skipped the whole childhood sweetheart things & master-disciple angle but simply make it an arranged marriage between strangers and boom.. her actions would've actually made far more sense then. no one would be dragging her. That's just super sloppy writing

Sadly the actress seems to be getting a lot of heat on Chinese platforms & honestly, I feel bad for her. I don't think the fault lies entirely with her at all... sure, Wang Xingyue is clearly the stronger actor between the two but it's really the writing that let her down so far and made her an easy target for criticism.

Yes, her portrayal of grief could have been more convincing, especially after losing her father but I don't think her acting was nearly as bad as people are making it out to be. The messy writing is what’s fueling the backlash. (I'll explain why I think it's the writing that's causing her hate in my spoiler comment below)

If the plot gets its act together in next episodes some of the hate on her will vanish faster than it came. This girl already killed it in 'Love of the Divine Tree' for me, so I’m not buying the slander just yet. Unless the next several episodes completely flop wrt her acting, I’m only side-eyeing the writers and the director but not her.

Oh wow, not you writing an entire thesis on novel canon like that was ever the conversation. You do realize I’m not debating the novel’s structure or whether Yue Ning originally had two lines, right?

I literally explained like more than once that this was about how the drama positioned Shen Yujie as a main role in MDL and the very reasonable expectation that came with it, especially for viewers who aren't novel readers (hi, me 🙋‍♂️).

Next time, please read through the entire post & understand the context before writing incoherent replies like this. You are hell bent on this novel fidelity for some damn reason when it was nowhere close to the point I was making. Geez 🤦

I guess the 'Spoiler' etiquette’s clearly out the window these days eh? Especially the one doing running commentary below for every scene without a single spoiler tag 🤦 The lack of consideration for others is honestly baffling.

Sorry , but you keep circling back to Wen Qi and Zhao Jinmai like I’m out here lobbying for Shen Yujie to headline some S-tier mega production next week. I’m not. No one said she’s the top-tier actress of her gen but I simply said this role looked like it could’ve been a breakthrough for her had it been a meaty one considering her potential. There’s a difference between calling someone the next acting messiah and just saying, “Hey, this could’ve been her moment if the role had actual weight.”

So respectfully, your whole “she doesn’t stand out among the 2000–2005 gen” take kinda misses the whole point. You can’t stand out when you’re barely given anything to stand with i.e getting a breakthrough project .. which is why I cited MJTY for LYX. What you call ‘decent’ might very well be an ‘underrated actor’ to someone with a sharper eye. One well-written role is all it takes to shift that narrative entirely like it happened with LYX. I guess I cannot make my point any clearer than this.

Lastly, to make it really clear, you can't shine without that breakthrough project in this industry unless you are a nepo product or an idol. Until then, you'll always be boxed into skewed takes like 'her acting is only decent' like exactly what you're doing now. Because you haven't seen that actor deliver her full potential coz of not finding a project that can truly deliver her full potential.

Sorry, I have to strongly push back on the idea that Shen Yujie’s acting “is not up to par.” That’s simply not true. Anyone that watched 'Only for Love' or 'Hard to Find' can easily see that this girl can act and she held her own remarkably well next to more established leads. That’s not just my opinion but anyone who followed those shows could see she delivered both nuance and range. So casually reducing her to someone “not at the level” feels baseless and unfair (maybe biased). It's not about her leading S tier dramas. I never said she should. It's about getting her well deserved breakthrough. There's a massive difference between both.

I don’t disagree that the likes of Zhao Jinmai have more standout projects under their belt but that’s exactly the point. They’ve had their breakout roles. Shen Yujie hasn’t had hers yet and this drama looked like it could’ve been that moment especially with her being listed as a “main role” on MDL. For viewers who aren’t novel readers, there was a reasonable expectation that she'd have a significant arc or at least narrative relevance. Instead, we’ve seen very limited presence so far hardly justifying a “main role” label. It’s not about screen time alone but it’s about plot weight.

Lu Yuxiao was just like her. Terrific actor but was always sidelined with unerutilized roles until MJTY changed her fate...That was possible only coz her role was written with real substance despite being supposed to play second fiddle to main leads. That’s the kind of opportunity Yujie needs and it’s frustrating when something that looks promising ends up sidelining her into near-background territory.

If anything, your comment kind of proves my point, she needs the right role to fully shine. And calling her subpar in acting only muddles the real issue—that her potential is there but underutilized.

Basically that’s really what I was getting at. The MDL classification feels a bit misleading in this case. A main role, at the very least, should have a distinct arc for themselves or serve as a key driver of the overall plot for the main casts. But Shen Yujie’s character has done neither so far (so does yan li character)

I’m aware that MDL doesn’t have a separate category for second leads, but labeling these roles as ‘main’ inevitably sets certain expectations ... ones that simply aren’t fulfilled in execution. As someone who genuinely hoped this would be Shen Yujie’s breakout moment, it’s admittedly frustrating to see such limited presence & narrative relevance. Realistically, based on how the character is written and integrated into the story she fits far more accurately under ‘Supporting Character’ if we are to classify based on MDL terms.

With just 16 episodes left, the only thing that’s really bugging me so far is how Shen Yujie’s character has been treated. Seeing her listed as a ‘main role’ on MDL just doesn’t match what’s actually happening on screen. I’ve watched 22 episodes so far and her screen time is super limited. And even when she shows up, there’s barely anything impactful given to her like no strong dialogues, no moments that leave a mark. At this point she just feels more like a fleeting supporting presence than a main role. Which is a bit sad honestly coz I’ve been rooting for her to get that proper breakout moment (something like what Lu Yuxiao had with MJTY).

If I’m being brutally honest, that was a total snoozefest. I knew this was a melo but even for a melo, the first episode was so dull that I had zero will to even try episode 2.

Hey, just to clear the air ..there was no bad intent here. I first made this comment here actually since you were already in a discussion with someone else in the other section & I didn't want to meddle there.. However later figured that without a tagging option on MDL, this comment might go unseen. So I decided to drop a comment in that other interaction as well to make sure it didn't get lost as you would get a notification.

That’s all there was to it. Just trying to keep things better around here for everyone. Cheers.

A kind request to user @Enigma05:

I can understand you're passionate about sharing your thoughts and love diving into detailed breakdowns but every drama has a 'Recent Discussions' forum in MDL where you can open your own thread and honestly that’s where your detailed scene-by-scene narrations belong if you’re unwilling to use spoiler tags.

Posting massive paragraphs recounting every single plot point without a spoiler warning isn’t just inconsiderate but it’s outright dismissive of others trying to enjoy the show spoiler-free. The fact that the show isn’t wildly popular doesn’t make it okay to ignore basic courtesy.

So please either start using spoiler tags or move your full commentaries to a discussion thread. It’s a simple fix and frankly the bare minimum expected in a shared space like this. Hope you’ll take this into account not just for this show but going forward as well.

You’re free to express things whichever way you want coz that’s the point of this forum. However, narrating every single scene and plot detail without even using a spoiler tag isn’t exactly considerate or ethical . And when I scrolled down, you have been spoiling the entire show scene by scene, plot by plot without spoiler tag. Just ask yourself if what you are doing is correct. I get that you want more people to read your thoughts & you might worry fewer people will read your post if it's hidden under a spoiler tag but that’s precisely why spoiler tags exist i.e to give others the choice, especially while a show is still airing. You cannot simply throw your narrative full of 'spoilers' on people's throats just coz MDL allows you to do so. It's just wrong & I just wanted to highlight that.

This show isn't very popular with audience or else you would have already been told off for doing this.. Regardless, using spoiler tags is a basic courtesy to avoid ruining the experience for others & it’s something you really should keep in mind moving forward. Cheers.

Sorry, but for me his acting at best feels fit for a supporting role. He simply doesn’t have the range or screen presence to anchor a lead character on his own. There’s an awkwardness in most of his scenes that’s hard to ignore, visually not captivating & the way he overdoes certain moments makes it frustrating to immerse into the story as a lead character (wouldn't have bothered much had it been a supporting character).
Again it is also possible that pairing him with Shen yujie may be the reason, who clearly outshines him on the screen presence as well as on the visual front which comes across as jarring atleast for me.

Gave this a try only for Shen Yujie & below is my personal thoughts so far (you don't have to necessarily agree btw)

The male lead is a complete miscast. I don’t mind nepotism when the actor has the chops to back it up but this guy has no screen presence, no depth & not even the visuals to compensate & what's worse ? he doesn’t have the acting skills to make up for any of it as a main character. That’s what makes it all the more frustrating when you’ve got an alluring FL on the other side holding it down (strong words, yes.. but that's how I describe nepo kids that don't deliver & get main roles coz of their dad & connections)

Shen Yujie, on the other hand, is a force effortlessly commanding attention every time she’s on the frame. Became a big fan ever since Hard to Find & Only for Love where she’s proven that she doesn’t just act but owns the screen presence. Every frame she’s in feels elevated automatically for some reason. I’m seriously rooting for Coroner’s Diary to be the project that finally gives her the mainstream recognition she deserves. This one, I have to drop. Cannot stand this ML sadly..