K-Drama 
This review may contain spoilers
The Case Against Luan Nian: A Character Analysis of The Early Spring
Disclaimer: Luan Nian is a character in a TV show. Any resemblance to your brother, your boyfriend, your situationship, or the guy you're still texting at 2 a.m. is entirely coincidental and legally not my problem. Let's respect each other.
The show wants to gaslight us into believing Luan Nian is a good romantic partner when he is not.
The Early Spring has become a global phenomenon, and with that comes a debate in comment sections everywhere: is Luan Nian a romantic lead or a red flag? I'm firmly in the red flag camp. Here's why.
He tries to control what Zhang Shitao wears with the lace dress, telling her she is not free to do as she pleases. He uses sex as a means to shut her up before a discussion when he senses it is coming. He "punishes" her with more work or overtime when he gets jealous, abusing his position as her boss to get back at her in the public sphere. He never saw her as an equal.
When she tries to make their relationship official and public, he rejects her in the most arrogant way possible, out of his irrational jealousy. The company finds out about their relationship, and the discovery gives them a clean reason to hand the title to Song Ying. But the title was Song Ying's anyway: her father pledged 250 million in ad budget to Lime. The relationship discovery wasn't the cause of her loss, but a cover.
In the end, he is completely wrong, because it doesn't even cross his mind to ask her what she thinks. It is a selfish decision, not something to help her. What she wants is respect from the company and from him, and neither gives it to her, so she leaves both.
This is an excerpt from a longer analysis I wrote. You can read the full essay on my blog here: https://angryessays.substack.com/p/the-early-spring-the-case-against
The show wants to gaslight us into believing Luan Nian is a good romantic partner when he is not.
The Early Spring has become a global phenomenon, and with that comes a debate in comment sections everywhere: is Luan Nian a romantic lead or a red flag? I'm firmly in the red flag camp. Here's why.
He tries to control what Zhang Shitao wears with the lace dress, telling her she is not free to do as she pleases. He uses sex as a means to shut her up before a discussion when he senses it is coming. He "punishes" her with more work or overtime when he gets jealous, abusing his position as her boss to get back at her in the public sphere. He never saw her as an equal.
When she tries to make their relationship official and public, he rejects her in the most arrogant way possible, out of his irrational jealousy. The company finds out about their relationship, and the discovery gives them a clean reason to hand the title to Song Ying. But the title was Song Ying's anyway: her father pledged 250 million in ad budget to Lime. The relationship discovery wasn't the cause of her loss, but a cover.
In the end, he is completely wrong, because it doesn't even cross his mind to ask her what she thinks. It is a selfish decision, not something to help her. What she wants is respect from the company and from him, and neither gives it to her, so she leaves both.
This is an excerpt from a longer analysis I wrote. You can read the full essay on my blog here: https://angryessays.substack.com/p/the-early-spring-the-case-against
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