AuzuLa

Haha. You're adding flames to my dislike for his acting.
You know what? Forget about Alan Yu. If most people were in his shoes, and were offered these main roles, they would take them, regardless of what they think about their acting. He's just doing what's most beneficial for himself. But, what are the directors thinking? They've watched the same thing we have, but in real time. Do they not question if what they see is up standard? Do they have noodles for brains?

Yeah, in an ideal world that's how it should be.

Yeah, that could have definitely worked.

I agree. Nowadays, to be a successful and popular actor, visuals usually go hand in hand with acting talent. But, in my opinion, acting talent should always be more important and prioritised.

It's kinda insane how he still keeps getting main lead roles. His acting is so lifeless. I've watched countless dramas/series and films from many different countries and I've never come across an actor like him. There's bad acting and then there's him. It's like he doesn't even attempt to change his facial impressions. I feel a little bad because I'm pretty much hating on him right now, but I just find it baffling how his acting has remained at the same level for so many dramas, and yet, he still manages to get lead roles. I don't have anything against him as a person, but he doesn't deserve to keep getting leading roles. He needs significant improvements in his acting. There are so many actors who are far more talented than him. It's just unfair.

Well, thank you.

Ji Won is one of the best female characters I've seen. I love the way she's handled things. And, it helps that she's portrayed by someone as talented as Moon Chae Won.

True. There must be a reason behind it though right? I'm from a western country, and there's been quite a lot of Korean dramas that I've thought were great and a lot of other international viewers had the same opinion, but for whatever reason, they're not popular in South Korea, or at least not given as much credit as they deserve. Maybe some cultural differences? I dunno. I haven't checked the ratings/reviews for this drama though. Does this have low ratings? If it does, then that's insane.

I hate myself for starting this drama before it finished airing.
I knew there was good chance that it'll be incredible and I'll get heavily invested in it, but I gave in anyway after only 6 episodes aired. Now I have to go through the mental torture of waiting. Days and weeks have never felt so long.

Wow! This was surprisingly great. One of the few xianxia dramas that I've watched without wanting to skip scenes at some point. I love wuxia and xianxia dramas, but lets be honest, they usually don't have a good plot, and there are a lot of annoying elements.
This didn't have a super unique story line or anything like that, but the story was fluent and coherent, which I swear rarely happens in xianxia dramas. There were 60 episodes, which are mainly based around the two main leads and their relationship. This can easily get boring and repetitive to watch after a while, so the writers usually use stupid cliche devices to stretch out the drama. But, this managed to keep me interested, engaged and emotionally connected, while keeping it simple. Nothing felt forced and unrealistic.
The best attribute of this dramas was the characters. Almost all characters, good or bad, made logical choices, and you could understand or explain their decisions. They were rational and reasonable. Much different from the typical annoying characters. Even most of the 'bad' or unlikable characters could be understood, and therefore, they added more to the story, creating conflict without annoying and boring people to death.
Also, the relationships in the drama were great. They were well developed and meaningful, especially the main couple. They didn't completely change into different people or anything, but their journey and time together was beautiful. We got to see quite a few sides of Ling Xi and they were all a delight to watch. Ni Ni really did an amazing job bringing Ling Xi and A'Mo to life. The main couple's relationship was so damn good. It was very sweet, cute, heartfelt and mature at the same time. You couldn't help but root for them.
Again, this drama didn't do anything overly complicated or new, but what it intended to do, it did it well. It was fairly simple and enjoyable. You could feel and understand the love between the characters, allowing you to get completely attached and invested in their journey and happiness. They made choices that you could agree with. The writer didn't just try to force things to create conflict or use weak cliche tools in order to push forward the plot. Things just felt natural.
I've watched Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms and Eternal Love of Dream. Even though those dramas are beloved and I enjoyed them too, I would rate this drama far above them both. This was a pleasure to watch.
I just have one issue, but it could be applied to the other dramas I mentioned too. I wish they would leave at least a couple of episodes to conclude the drama on a more satisfying and happy note. After facing and overcoming so many obstacles, I just want to see more of the main characters being together living happily and peacefully, rather than it feeling rushed.
Of course, if you're being picking and overly critical you could mention a lot of mistakes/areas for improvement in this drama, but if you go with that approach, you shouldn't even watch the xianxia genre tbh. Almost all wuxia and xianxia dramas have tons of imperfections. At this point, I've just accepted that fact and try my best to enjoy the drama focusing on its strengths.

The plot was honestly bland, but I still enjoyed majority of this, especially the latter half of the drama. The first 20ish episodes felt very draggy, but things quickly changed after this. The plot remained to be nothing special, but the interactions between Dong Hua and Feng Jiu were priceless.
The best, and in my opinion, the only real engaging aspect of this drama were the interactions between Dong Hua and Fen Jiu. And, I mean only these specific characters, not including any of their other identities with doppelgangers (in the mortal realm or dream of aranya etc). Everything else was very predictable and lacked any kind of excitement or enjoyment. The villain was nothing special, and the way of generating conflict was cliche, weak and boring.
I loved Dong Hua. He was portrayed by Vengo Gao, and it was perfect casting. I can't imagine anyone pulling it off better than him. His expressions were subtle and yet still extremely expressive. He managed to show Dong Hua's indifferent personality perfectly, and whenever he wanted to express something he did so in a subtle, yet very lively manner. Dong Hua was incredibly strong and wise, but at heart he was like a mischievous little child. Knowing the way he treated everyone else, and his history of being aloof from almost everything, including emotional connections, made his loving and playful exchanges with Feng Jiu very enjoyable to watch. He was very different from other characters you see.
Feng Jiu was too cute. This was mainly due to the casting of Dilraba Dilmurat. She really brought the character to life and made it her own.
The chemistry between the leads was great. Their sweet, playful and loving scenes were the heart of this drama.
In conclusion, there's nothing special about the plot, but the lead couple does more than enough to carry the drama and made it a joy to watch. Maybe, just skip some of the unnecessary and boring sections.

I double checked the numbers too. I don't think they are the same numbers. To me, the six didn't really look like a five.

I'm so happy after episode 8. I really love Cha Ji Won. Earlier, I had a few issues with how she was handling things, but now, I really respect her actions. She's really smart and strong. I feel bad for her since she heard Hyun Soo say he doesn't love her. That must hurt a lot. The person who you've shared so much of your life with, and the person who you loved so much, doesn't actually love you, but has been deceiving you instead. She still protects his identity. Even if it's mainly for her daughter's sake, she's still really strong mentally. Most people would become emotional and irrational, going off the rails, trying to get back at the person who's hurt them so much. I'm loving her character.
Also, I don't think Hyun Soo told the truth. He probably doesn't even realise the truth himself. He loves her, but doesn't even realise it because he thinks that he's incapable of loving and feeling.
I'm hoping that they won't drag out Hyun Soo hiding his identity from Ji Won. It would be best if he reveals it soon.

Yeah, I agree with what you said. Life has been pretty cruel to Hyun Soo. His decisions are reasonable, even the kidnapping and blackmail. If he didn't do that, the life he's known for 14 years would all be over. He would lose his wife and child. Anyway, if he was really bad and wanted to kill the guy he easily could have, but he didn't even do that. Right now, I think he is redeemable, but if he kills someone intentionally and for the wrong reasons, then that's crossing a line which will definitely end up destroying his life.

Yeah, that would've made things so much more interesting tbh. I was hoping for a male lead who did terrible things, but in some way the viewers could still root for him because his actions could be somewhat justified by something. If that makes sense? I like characters like that. They play with your emotions.

I don't really mind anything so far, other than the fact that Ji Won has already determined that Hyun Soo is guilty. She's looking for something so she can 'forgive' him. The way she's acting right now is just very deceitful and cruel to Hyun Soo. The things that point to Hyun Soo being a murderer are either rumours or circumstantial evidence. There is nothing definitive, yet everybody has deemed him guilty, including his own wife. Hyun Soo lied to her about his identity to start a new life, away from his past, while Ji Won is lying to him in order to catch him. He's never done something to hurt her.
Having an antisocial personality disorder and a father who turned out to be a murderer, led to him being outcast by everyone. People believed that he must have know about his father's actions, or even helped him. Then, the weapon that killed a villager was found in his bag, and since he went missing at that exact time, everyone thought he was guilty, but none of this is actual definitive proof that he is guilty. Any smart person should be able to put these pieces and come to the conclusion that it is entirely possible that Hyun Soo is innocent. Maybe it's not likely, but it's a possibility. A chance.
Ji Won's first thoughts should be something along these lines, but instead, she's immediately trying to prove his crimes. I know she could have just exposed his identity already, so she could have done something crueller, but it still isn't right. I understand she feels deceived, and hurt that he's hid his real identity from her for so long. But, in all the time they spent together, they loved each other, married, and started a family. Even though this is probably a dumber and more emotional response, I feel like she should have just been honest and confronted him. Whether she did so feeling sad, angry, betrayed, it would all be justified.
If Hyun Soo turns out to be completely innocent of all the crimes he's accused off, then everything that happened to him would be very unfair.

No, not really. In the beginning, there are characters who like the male lead and female lead, but it's solved maturely and it isn't milked for endless unnecessary conflict. The main couple remain loyal to each other throughout the entire drama.

Wow. The female lead is so damn good. Not only is this the first female actress who actually looks believable dressing up as a man, but she's also a good actor and fun to watch. And, she looks beautiful as a woman too. Is this her own voice too? Anyway, she really has the whole package. I hope she gets a lot of good main roles in the future, because she deserves them.

I think Hyun Soo himself doesn't realise what he feels. The society and the people he's known have all made him out to be a monster like his father, who didn't care about anything. Of course, he's also actually different from other people, since he has an antisocial personality disorder. All this might have made him believe that he couldn't possibly have any feelings for anyone, so to this day he believes that he doesn't actually care for his wife or daughter.
But, from what we've seen so far, he clearly cares about both of them, especially his daughter. When his wife was about to get hurt, he protected her at the cost of his own body being injured. When his mum called his daughter a 'little rascal', he corrected her, telling her to call her by her name, Baek Eun Ha. There's no need for him to do these things unless he cares about them.

Firstly, fuck the people who're complaining about the female lead's acting. I only started watching this today, and I was so surprised when I saw so many people complaining about her acting and finding her annoying. In my opinion, so far, her character has been great and acting has been even better. Moon Chae Won is carrying her own weight and is on par with Lee Joon Gi's acting in this drama.
And, yes, I understand where you're coming from. But, as I said, psychopaths aren't expressionless. They're most commonly known for lacking certain traits that 'normal' people have, such remorse and guilt. They're just different from other people so they'll have different reactions to specific situations, so in order to conceal themselves, they learn to express superficial emotions, like Hyun Soo is doing. It's not that they wouldn't react/express anything, but that they would react in ways that would not be 'normal'.
Also, I had a different interpretation of the scene where Hyun Soo asks the man how he felt when his wife died. Rather than wanting to know how one should act at the loss of a loved one, I think he genuinely wanted to know how his wife, Ji Won, felt when he almost died. When she mentioned it to him, he didn't fully understand why she was upset and was slightly surprised at her reaction. I think in that moment he actually cared about his wife, but cannot understand her since his mind thinks so differently.
And, you mentioned about him expressing emotions/showing what he thinks when he's around his 'parents' etc even though no outsiders are watching. Those could just be his actual expressions, right? Besides they're not actually like a real family. They're not concerned about his well being, especially not the father. They're more like a group of people working together with the same interests. From what I see, whenever he's around his parents, he puts on a 'fake' smile, and shows confidence and strength. The father does the same.