Charbonnel

Nice article! I don’t often feel SLS, I had it really bad once, with that being Dark Blue and Moonlight, that one broke my heart in to itty bitty pieces. Mostly, I also do just ship the main pair more naturally, and on occasion I might feel pity for SL, but not SLS, because it doesn’t make the main lead any less worthy (unless main lead is a psycho or otherwise undeserving/unloving).

And about Cheese in the Trap, I completely get what you were saying there, it took me multiple attempts to get through that drama..

I loved the premise of this drama, however I didn’t find much stood out about it to me in the end, I was skipping through most of the later episodes, the characters were fun, but it just felt a bit draggy to me, and there would be moments where I’d stop and think - why are they doing that right now? Unfortunately, I also saw pretty much everything from the get go - probably because when I watch western TV, I almost exclusively watch crime drama (Murdoch Mysteries, Criminal Minds, Castle, NCIS (all 3 versions), Hawaii Five-O, the list goes on), and so once I knew, I thought “how many more episodes of this”, I guess it’s also because I’m used to episodic shows, there’s usually a crime solved every 1-3 episodes with some exceptions... anyhow, I’d say it’s alright for what is does, although I’d like to see the FL ability more too..!

Ep8 - I love how QingFeng is evolving, and I’m suspecting that right when he and XiaoEn get closer and become happy, that’s when Aoran will jump in... if that’s the case, the writers are evil... still good writing, but evil!
Although so far I love the writing and drama as a whole, I do find myself skipping through some real world scenes with Mingli, but I plan to rewatch after it finishes airing and appreciate those scenes too. The writing even got me crying when XiaoEn was crying in ep8 - and I don’t normally cry at dramas. I’m also living for the friendship shown from ChunTian in the real world, and how she’s still talking to her best friend and looking after her.
Lastly, because of how the plot is functioning along with how XiaoEn’s character is portrayed, I find myself relating to her much more than other female protagonists, and I have to say, I’m surprised to find myself liking Chuchu (only a little bit, in the sense she isn’t the typically loathsome second female lead).

Knowing the plot in advance is helpful (I read spoilers for this one because of lots of people disliking the plot), it’ll probably mean I won’t be irritated later, as I can enjoy this stress free, so so far, so good. Plus, I happen to share a birthday with both of the leads! :)

Having read the plot, I understand why people would be angry/dislike this show, although I’m happy to watch with a pinch (or a bucket) or salt and see how it goes. (As of this writing I’ve only got to ep3, so no crazy shenanigans yet, and also just because I’m watching it does not mean that I think what ML does is okay (it’s very much not), I’m just trying to pass the time and I’ve been stuck trying to find things to fill the time between episodes of Lost Romance).

Made the mistake of binge watching the first 5 episodes today, I need more! I’m now going to be stuck waiting with everyone else, but I’m still glad I watched it, as it’s not something I want to miss.

After reading this, I watched The Romance of Tiger and Rose, and although I don’t normally watch Cdrama and avoid historical dramas, I absolutely loved it! Thanks for writing this article/list, if it weren’t for this I would have completely missed this gem!

Also, Itaewon Class was a good watch, I saw it a couple moths ago. :)

Something else I love about it, is that there’s nothing to stop people from actually having an experience just like this in the same way Chen Xiao Qian does - although it’s unlikely for someone else to share the same experience (but I’ll dream on).

I also felt like this drama made me think more than I expected, and perhaps learnt a thing or two from it. Also, I loved the meta commentary in episode 22 (I think it was that episode), there was some very clever writing in places throughout this drama and as I noticed it more, I only gained more appreciation for this show.

I’m in shock! I finished this in 3 days, and absolutely loved it! I don’t usually watch Cdramas, and I usually avoid historical drama (not that I know if this counts?). It has so much charm, and while, yes, in places I got irritated at various characters, I feel that the story this told was exceptional, I spent much of my time laughing and grinning with this. I hope that there’s more like this to be found, I loved the twist on the ‘historical’ setting if you can call it that, and feel that even if you (like me,) avoid historical dramas, give this a go.

(I’m adding another comment under spoiler tag because I don’t know how much of a spoiler it is)

Funnily enough, I saw his debut before I discovered his acting, as I am a big fan of Bang Yongguk. From his acting, I find it satisfying how well he seems to do, regardless of what character he plays - I’d say my favourite drama he’s been in is Itaewon Class, I absolutely loved him/his character in it. I first saw him in Fight For My Way, and I’ve also seen him in a few others since.

I got 5 E’s, 4 B’s, 2 D’s and a single C. Nicely done quiz! I loved the bonus type in the end, I had a good laugh reading that.

Even though there’s a low budget, there’s some awkward stuff going on with the sound engineering - the music is fine, it’s actually good and fitting and well mixed, but the audio is inconsistent because the sound of the room goes away during parts where dialogue is re-recorded - they could have at least added a bit of reverb or recorded in a suitably similar acoustic/setup, or recorded a room to keep the noise even. In slight addition to this there was clearly little to no effort on syncing dialogue with lip movements. Not criticising the actors, I don’t know how rushed this was - whether they had time for only one or two takes live and say one or two studio takes?

I’m not trying to nitpick, as it is my only complaint, however it massively breaks immersion with the show for me. I’m also planning on continuing to watch if this doesn’t play up to much with how I experience the show, as it is something I want to watch. Also, I don’t know how obvious this is to anyone else watching as I have done music and sound technology (studio work), so am used to picking out things that could do with fixing in audio, so do take this with a pinch of salt as it’s just my opinion.

I was so relieved to see that, as I can only find Portuguese subtitles online, and it’s pretty hard to find a trace of it anywhere else at the moment. Even though there’s a wait, at least Viki has it. :)

I’m loving this show, it has some satisfyingly empowering moments, yet I’m not invested in the romances at all (they’re just not that interesting / they’re irritating)... however, I am watching it for the main three characters (and the scenes at work), and oddly enough I find myself liking Ga Gyeong... a lot (in spite of the first impressions).!

This was my first drama (surprising that I didn’t get put off by how sad it was, but hey), I watched it about two months before joining MDL. Seeing as I am going through yet another big transition in my life, I rewatched it, having gained appreciation for things that I didn’t understand the first time around. This drama is very much one that stands out and is memorable for me - it isn’t about liking the main characters, and for the most part isn’t even about their ambitions. I often avoid dramas that are as painful as this, but the something about it still resonates, and even now, while I definitely don’t LOVE all of the main characters, I cannot bring myself to dislike any of them (perhaps some level of understanding and/or empathy with all of them, including Jimmy and HQ), and I still couldn’t finish this one without having a good cry (and there’s only two dramas that I have cried at; this being one). I still love this drama, not in the same way as I do with other dramas, but it still has that something that I don’t see anywhere else.

Also, this is one in very few dramas that I have watched that features no comedy, and to be honest it’s harder when there isn’t a single moment of deliberate comedy as here, as there’s nothing else to do but go on this emotional journey with the characters - regardless of whether or not this was the plan.

Okay, I know how we all feel about the ending, and yes, after months I still feel it, but in a way doesn’t that mean that the writers have achieved something - because had the drama been poorly acted or written I don’t think nearly as many people would have been upset, but the sheer number of people who still have feelings for this just demonstrated how much this series has grown - HIStory has done so well to grow from season 1 until now, with the writing improving with each year. (Yes, I know not all will agree for that with MODC, but still...)

Also, does anyone know / has anyone heard anything about season 4? Because since the end of events for this, the HIStory IG hasn’t been up to much and I haven’t come across anything yet myself, just hoping that they’ll do at least one more season and maybe not leave it on such a polarising note...

If you want to dodge the death part - watch from episodes 1 to 9 (or 1 to 18) 1 to 9 if episode length is 50 (ish) minutes, 1 to 18 is episode length is 25 (ish) minutes. (Only mentioning it because different places do the episodes for this differently).
Hope this helps?

Is Park So Dam playing herself or is there just an odd naming coincidence?

Most signs have two images that make sense next to each other ... and then there’s Gemini, which looks comparable to the experience of watching Weightlighting Fairy Kim Bok Joo followed by Strangers from Hell in the same day! Still somehow relatable XD

A worthwhile watch, very short but sweet and funny. Also, the ending song in ep.10 - it’s so good! I didn’t expect a song, let alone one like that, I almost cried (it’s been a long time since I listened to a ballad like that)...

Would recommend because although it isn’t perfect, it’s a pleasant, easy watch. My main issue is it’s shortness but even so the writing as it was in this wouldn’t have been the easiest watch for a typical length series, however it fit well enough for something this short (a couple of unexplained plot points that throw off the first couple of episodes, but it’s fine if you accept it and move on).

Honestly I’d been thinking the same thing, especially how it was portrayed as normal, as most BL either don’t address consent or romanticise the lack thereof - a trope that just needs to stop. Well done writers!