JJJ

Bahaha, when one of the students said, "Goodbye Uncle" (to the security guard), TQ responded back. 😭

SCC: "Girl you better stop chasing after a boy and put that energy into studying!"
JXZ: *Gets a doctoral*

SCC truly changing lives. 😂😂😂

Yup! The cousin seemed to want to "comfort" her, but he already assumed wrongly that SCC would have been the one confessing to TQ and not the other way around. 😔

Yup, and even when she is not there. You have people making comments that "Oh yes the neighbors have 2 daughters, the pretty one and the average one". It is such an off-handed comment but just shows how people don't realize how hurtful it can be. You have her own parents thinking TQ showed up for QSL and acting so hyped up when they found out TQ is there for SCC because SCC can finally get a man?? So even though there is love, your loved ones can still hurt you unintentionally. It is definitely a commentary on people needing to watch what they say because what they think is harmless can absolutely destroy someone's confidence (like the reunion scene in episode 1).

SCC's situation with people close to her making comments "unintentionally" (and intentionally) really does have an accumulation effect. Her coping mechanism/self-defense has either been to throw it back, ignore it, or just cry it out & comfort herself. She herself might not even have been concerned about her appearance when she was young, but the comments /others/ have made would cause her to be hyper aware. She doesn't want to care, but when this part of you gets pointed out multiple times throughout your life, how can you not start to doubt yourself and think something is /wrong/ with you.

Yes, I think so too. C-dramas have been really limited in the romcom department, so everyone is used to certain plots/tropes only. It is also why a portion of C-viewers think idol romance dramas are mostly bad and they are all the same. In addition, these types of dramas usually don't respect the FL so when you have watched these dramas long enough, it makes it very obvious and even draining to watch. But there is a recent wave of C-drama international watchers in which they started only watching C-dramas 2-3 years ago, so they probably don't see these patterns while C-viewers have been seeing this for the last 10+ years.

K-dramas like "Kill Me, Heal Me" and "My Love from the Star" have such "wacky" premises but works so well + great acting. They are popular with C-viewers too /because/ they are so different. Though recent years, K-dramas romcom have been in a decline too because the focus is more on thriller.

Yes! Someone on XHS also pointed out that TQ noticed SCC put on make-up before leaving which added to his misunderstanding that her reason to put on make-up was to meet this other man.

I love SCC a lot too. I think she embodies the modern "typical girl" really well with the strength to love the world/people (despite the things people say about her in terms of her appearance) + the ability to pick up the pieces herself. I really adore the variety of female characters this drama gave us.

Haha XY is messy, but I will say I am happy the beef she has with SCC wasn't because of a man. It was for her career at the end of the day.

It is just straight up projection and people not understanding these characters. I think they are also lowkey mad that SCC isn't falling over herself and sobbing/begging forgiveness from TQ.

They have no understanding of her character either and why she makes the decision she makes nor say the things she says. That reunion scene had a massive impact on her and her later interactions with TQ in the beginning also cemented her thoughts that TQ doesn't care for her so any sadness/hurt he has won't be about /her/.

Another thing I appreciate about this drama is the female characters being the realists (while the male characters are more of the "emotional"/riskier ones when it comes to love). FLs being "love-brained" in general gets dragged to filth with the C-audience especially when they neglect everything else in their lives.

SCC - Buried her feelings once her crush crushed her confidence and doesn't chase non-stop/pining over someone who has no interest in her. Tried to make sure her transformations don't impact her work so pushed herself overtime to try to balance the two.

SQL - Divorce lawyer (so she knows exactly the reality of marriages) and some of her sayings included "Men move on quick".

LY - Doesn't really believe in love/marriage and she too dropped some gold comments about men being meh in general.

Edit to add in FJ - Having been married and now divorced didn't take away anything away from her. Her intelligence, her education, her work ethics, etc. those are her own background/qualities that will always be hers (aka unrelated to a man).

Though of course TQ and GY are exceptions to the general statistics regarding % of men moving on quick after a divorce, % of men divorcing their wives when their wives have fallen ill, etc. as this is a romcom drama after all.

For sure!

Ready to see it too! I laughed at the comments saying how this drama finally remembered it is an idol romance drama. 😂

Yes, for sure. In terms of return profit, this drama definitely made it back with at least hitting 26K heat index. This is not some S+ drama so promo will always affect how much traction a drama gains during its run. In addition, idol romance modern drama has its specific audience and their specific type of interest/shipping expectation. This drama has been really out of the box with how it builds the relationship between the main pair. This drama would attract more viewers who aren't usually into this type of genre.

Review wise, this drama really has a lot of positive discussions. Be in about the comedy, people analyzing FL's/ML's POVs, the themes discussed, etc.

He is someone who gives his entire being to the other person once he loves so I guess it makes sense. 😂

Can't believe they are finally reaching this stage. 😂 What a ride.

You know how he was reading those psychological books to set up his trap accurately? Yeah, he definitely read books on how to flirt (or it could just be his inner self at full blast now that that the feeling is mutual).

BOY, TQ is so forward with the physical affection *looking at the new preview clips*.

Episode 21 - A whole investigation
Episode 22 - Setting a trap for reveal
Episode 23 - Confession about the bracelet

There has been romance C-dramas that have been rated 8.5+ here and it is lol especially for those of us who understand Chinese and the context of some of those dramas. But it has been known for a while that the dramas that are popular here because certain actors/actresses acted in them are not considered quality dramas in China. They get their stats and profits for sure but in the long run, those dramas are not making a dent in the history of Chinese filmography.

Filter is one of those C-dramas where another one like it will not come along for a long time. It is one of those dramas that doesn't have a "black hole" (production, directing, scriptwriting, acting, etc.). It is definitely getting attention within the industry itself for such a drama to be even a possibility.

I also agreed with the comments I saw on XHS that if this drama was a K-drama, it did probably blow up a lot more with people actually giving it a chance. I feel like K-drama viewers who had watched these type of romcom dramas back in the 2010s would get its humor so much better.

Yes LOL, I too think she was just so focused on trying to help him with his eyes that she didn't stop to question if this was a trap and that he knew something already. She is not that calculative when it comes down to it. When SCC gets pressed hard, she tends to unravel like TQ calling her in the morning with all those questions.