This was nice but I wasn't sure I was going to really connect with it for the first few eps but after watching ep 4-- they're so cute! ZLH is a good actor but I never personally vibe with him as a ML (like, *my* heart has never fluttered for him but I'm happy to see his FLs get the guy etc etc) BUT he's pulling me in on this one. Listen, I like enemies to lovers as much as the next girl but sometimes it's so nice to get a drama where the man acts like a a real human man would in the real world when faced with a beautiful woman- that is, being attracted to her and so trying to pursue her.
Need this intern to get a clue, asap. And I know he's young but he needs to learn however good he thinks his intentions are this is basically work place harrassment, he shouldn't put his colleague in the position of having to navigate personal boundaries with him.
ANYWHO.... I love how slowly slowly we've gotten to see a softer side of Yifan in her interactions with Sangyan. Even though he's being blunt and argumentative (to the borderline of antagonistic from an outside perspective, hence the concern of Yifans friends when they get a glimpse of it) I always felt like it spoke to her deep seated trust of him that she never actually felt intimidated by him. I feel like one could think she seems "weak" in their little domestic interations -- but compare how she acts with him to how stone faced and strong she has had to appear in the outside world interactions with colleagues, the other people from her old flat, her mother and aunt etc etc. Even when talking to SiQao her voice and attitude are both quite straightforward. But in front of Sangyan we're getting to see her devolve a bit back into a young woman more like the teen she was when she had her father in her life. They're bringing the immaturity out of eachother and it's nice to see, cause she had to grow up way too fast.
Wowowow just reached ep 3 and the second couple are so mean to eachother I was practically saying "yikes" everytime each of them let a sentence out! Definitely creates an interesting contrast in the drama to have characters acting like this.
Before I knew it I got way more attached to this drama than I thought! Everytime the latest episode ends I'm so disappointed and desperately want more even though it's just a slice of life drama.
I understand her crying tbh, at least she didn't do it at the table. In irl, there are times where you can't control…
What a coincidence, as soon as you sent this reply I was just coming back after seeing him call her a crybaby at the end of ep 3. I did like that line, I do find it slightly more believable if characters within the drama acknowledge the fact she seemingly cries really easily and that's at a complete contrast to how strong you'd assume she is based on her work.
I really really want to love this but I'm starting the 3rd ep still not quite sure. Suspension of disbelief around plot aside (I'm happy to chalk things up to cdramaland rules) I think my first hesitation is that they're overusing slowmotion + soundtrack music in a way that makes it so I can never quite get immersed and forget I'm watching a tv show. I have loved shows where two strangers seem to immediately have a spark of interest for eachother but start off awkwardly bumping into eachother and having missed connections until they gradually get close -- like One Spring Night or Amidst a Snowstorm of Love. I think this drama was strongly going for an AASOL vibe but for me they're not getting the development and pacing quite right.
Her crying at the dinner in episode 2 felt way too premature for me? I think some S+ tier romance cdramas with great pacing like AASOL or something like HL would have let us sit in the scene with the FL microexpressions delicately showing the audience how uncomfortable she is -- and for this FL (a grown woman reporter who just got back from a warzone, who grew up with messily divorced parents) I would have felt it more believable that her dissapointment would act as like a wake up call to get a hold of herself and try cut off any burgeoning feelings-- definitely a shock but not public tears worthy. I'm neither calm under pressure nor emotionally jaded from my parents and yet I know that even if I felt crushed / so stupid in that moment literally every womanly instinct in me would be yelling "Omg hold it together and act normal" and you would not catch me tearing up at the dip station!! I have also loved this ML in other roles but I'm not really getting a sense of any real personality in him here so far which makes it harder to feel a connection between our leads. I'll definitely keep watching cause I've been desperate for a modern c-romance lately, hopefully I'll get more immersed a few more episodes in...
Okay for episode 5 and half of episode 6 I was like "hmm don't love the direction the show is going in tonally…
Also damn the assistant being an enemy is such a predictable trope and not only that they've shown a matching sleeve in our FLs flashback which makes it extra extra predictable so I'm really hoping it's a red herring cause I like him as a loyal agent for our ML.
Okay for episode 5 and half of episode 6 I was like "hmm don't love the direction the show is going in tonally because we've lost all the tension and angst but oh well" and then in the second half of episode 6 I was like "NOW THIS IS TELEVISION". I'm here for the jeapordy and the danger, it's reminded me that they will find new ways to create it so not to lose hope 😂
Her wedding gift to him being her unveiling her "wall of crazy" so they can strategize together is so so perfect to this character that I have to applaud the writers/ director. Actually brilliant.
Cant wait for when they are married era lol https://youtu.be/eGH3Zp1aYtA?si=dkEef8_exxwueTf4
Yes, honestly I normally prefer the chase part to the couple part but with these two characters I've been mentally chanting "kiss kiss kiss" every interaction even even when they barely knew eachother.
Me at episode 9: What a messed up situation, also I don't like any of these characters, I don't think I like this drama.
Me at episode 19: What a complex situation, what flawed characters, I think I actually like this drama.
Honestly when I watched the first few episodes and saw the drama as a surface level romantic c-drama I just couldn't imagine coming around to the storyline or the characters-- I truly believe our FL had deep love for the SML that can't easily be pushed aside, not to mention 2 decades of resentment for our ML , and I thought the ML's ease with the whole situation was crazy. As the episodes go by I really appreciate that the writers are unpacking our (three) leads personalities and motivations and I tbh really relate to our FL and the walls she's got up against the world. I also think it's a very interesting departure from "You are my one soulmate in every lifetime" to suggest our FL can (and indeed did) love Su Ronqing deeply in another life. The angst of that idea is entertaining if you're in the right mood for it.
Just binged eps 1-4 and I'm definitely enjoying this so far- it's kind of campy / tropey in the way 2014 kdramas were but with a 2024 budget and I'm here for it. If they keep up the pace and don't do anything crazy in the later episodes this could end up being a good one.
A few things about the editting of this show have thrown me off so far (I'm on ep 5) but I have a question- did they show Gu Yi interview that other man, the one who has now started working at her company and mentioned he was worried her boss was giving her too much work? Did I somehow miss that whole scene?
ANYWHO.... I love how slowly slowly we've gotten to see a softer side of Yifan in her interactions with Sangyan. Even though he's being blunt and argumentative (to the borderline of antagonistic from an outside perspective, hence the concern of Yifans friends when they get a glimpse of it) I always felt like it spoke to her deep seated trust of him that she never actually felt intimidated by him. I feel like one could think she seems "weak" in their little domestic interations -- but compare how she acts with him to how stone faced and strong she has had to appear in the outside world interactions with colleagues, the other people from her old flat, her mother and aunt etc etc. Even when talking to SiQao her voice and attitude are both quite straightforward. But in front of Sangyan we're getting to see her devolve a bit back into a young woman more like the teen she was when she had her father in her life. They're bringing the immaturity out of eachother and it's nice to see, cause she had to grow up way too fast.
Her crying at the dinner in episode 2 felt way too premature for me? I think some S+ tier romance cdramas with great pacing like AASOL or something like HL would have let us sit in the scene with the FL microexpressions delicately showing the audience how uncomfortable she is -- and for this FL (a grown woman reporter who just got back from a warzone, who grew up with messily divorced parents) I would have felt it more believable that her dissapointment would act as like a wake up call to get a hold of herself and try cut off any burgeoning feelings-- definitely a shock but not public tears worthy. I'm neither calm under pressure nor emotionally jaded from my parents and yet I know that even if I felt crushed / so stupid in that moment literally every womanly instinct in me would be yelling "Omg hold it together and act normal" and you would not catch me tearing up at the dip station!! I have also loved this ML in other roles but I'm not really getting a sense of any real personality in him here so far which makes it harder to feel a connection between our leads. I'll definitely keep watching cause I've been desperate for a modern c-romance lately, hopefully I'll get more immersed a few more episodes in...
Me at episode 19: What a complex situation, what flawed characters, I think I actually like this drama.
Honestly when I watched the first few episodes and saw the drama as a surface level romantic c-drama I just couldn't imagine coming around to the storyline or the characters-- I truly believe our FL had deep love for the SML that can't easily be pushed aside, not to mention 2 decades of resentment for our ML , and I thought the ML's ease with the whole situation was crazy. As the episodes go by I really appreciate that the writers are unpacking our (three) leads personalities and motivations and I tbh really relate to our FL and the walls she's got up against the world. I also think it's a very interesting departure from "You are my one soulmate in every lifetime" to suggest our FL can (and indeed did) love Su Ronqing deeply in another life. The angst of that idea is entertaining if you're in the right mood for it.