VaticVulpine

Definitely one of the better costume C-Dramas. Such a refreshing mixture of politics, romance, and intrigue thats both shallow stage wise and deep character driven wise. (I can also admire the splitting of it into two parts, it doesnt spoon feed us the romance-- a c-drama respecting its audience is a sight to behold!) Its also one of the few I dont find myself skipping parts. What a treasure. It doesnt get ahead of itself nor take itself too seriously, all while asking us to still care and not see it as flippant or without purpose. What a fabulous FL, too. Never whiny, but still immature and has her faults, but you see her growth and can admire her all the more for it. Definitely a show I can recommend.

so next season WILL have romance? inform the ignorant please <3

how bad does it suck, why does it suck? ;v;

I watched this over a few weeks and dubbed this, "The Stoic and the Lotus." I've seen a lot of opinions about our ML being emotionless, but not only is that not the case, but it also entirely preferences. He's a stoic personality: it doesn't mean he's a bad actor, it means he's playing a character role, another person's personality-- the classic strong but silent type, the strong doesn't become apparent until halfway through the show, and that's sort of the point. He has emotions, but his world is built upon expectations and bogged down by financial pressure aside from having his mother's fate partially placed upon his shoulders... let alone the company he works for. Our FL is a little wonky, she comes across as strong and passionate amidst the era she grew up in (The 88'ers, which is why she can be defined as a lotus, forcing her way up through the mud of lower middle class and past her family's patriarchal expectations [I adore her mother to bits, and I rarely cry, but her letter she wrote for the ML had me grabbing tissues]), and she is, but she's also been so focused on her dreams and passions for so long that she has become innocent and lackadaisical to the rest of life, "the real world" outside of her job. It's a different type of sheltered, a self-sufficient-type-made-sheltered, and I really dig that. This is where our two main characters connect and bond: their innocence is created by their overt determination at what they -think- they want, what life tells them they should want, and what they think is the easiest trade-off (logic vs emotions). These characters are closer in age to my older cousins, as they're true Millenials, their problems and the intense pressure and generational assumptions and negative feedback is really toxic and disheartening. The name of the app in this series is enough of a nudge to the ribs, "Date, Don't Marry," which is even more of a problem in Asian countries, but is seen across the world. It's definitely a slice-of-life show that I find endearing with some very odd sometimes misplaced gag-humor. That aside, it's a very comfortable watch that speaks for the millennial generation. And as someone who is neither millennial or Gen Z (god, the fucking pain) it gives me a lens to not only have compassion for my older family members but even give my own nods because housing is so very difficult and roommates are a chore and a half. In a time where either you have to build up a thick skin to continually date through social media, or ditch the secondary skin altogether and focus on your career path just to survive, I can appreciate a different flavor of this show. To me, this means it's not just some general moral to the story but has an overarching theme that the audience can relate to all while having a narrative within it. This isn't meant to be your normal overly fluffy KDrama, nor is it your overly gut-wrenching tragedy, but it balances desire and reality in a way that can make you take a secondary look at our decisions and what's worth it. I say the show is worth it when you realize it's more of a generational study that happens to include a few love stories, rather than a full-throttle love story to warm your heart. Good cast, slice-of-life storyline, the tropes are never too much, and you actually genuinely care about what's going on. (I also really adore that cat!)

I kept looking at comments detailing what the "scandal" was, but couldn't find it and resorted to google, and it's the most underwhelming thing: "... its 30 episodes aired on the Mango TV station from March 2020, viewers quickly realized that something had happened to the character of Qingqing, played by actress Zhang Dingding-her face seemed to be pasted on, and her expressions and facial features seemed to track inconsistently with her head movements (Yuli, 2020). It was quickly confirmed that the character was originally played by actress Liu Lu, who had in the meantime been put in administrative detention for her refusal to undergo a security check at a train station; in order not to affect the broadcast, the production was forced to recast actress Zhang Dingding in the same role, reshoot some of her scenes, and use huanlian techniques to swap the two actresses' faces in the rest of the footage, preserving the character's continuity (Figure 4). The audience's verdict was unanimous: the face-swapping effect was not up to the technical standards of other media products, it looked cheap and unfinished, and offended the viewers' intelligence"

I was made to believe "The Red Sleeve" isn't really romantic, it's more unspoken romance with no follow through. I think that might be an important distinction for those looking for romance shows. I could be wrong, but it's why I haven't watched it as it was the overwhelming opinion in reviews both on MDL and off rather than just a few drops in the bucket.

for real

Idk, I like the way he looks far more now than in his younger years. Then again, the skeletal look is a vibe for me, Cillian Murphy is one of the few men I'd hop on. I'd consider him a white boy equivalent. Handsome but with edge. I like that. I dont need more fluffy rake-ish looking men in my asian dramas. Give me some art to look at.

This sounds so interesting, Id love to have more shows about different culturally crafted alcoholic beverages. Ah ): a bummer you can't find it with subs.

spoil? ):

Just what I needed to put this in my PTW, thank you. Always need some rainy sunday shows to watch.

tyvm

☁nvm, I want to stab the sound editors. Did they have some tiny library of sounds tagged as "ominous" and feel threatened by the power of silence? Transitions are try-hard and hurt the eyes. The choreography is actually pretty brilliant/feels self-aware-- the storyboards must have been fire. It's got a weird fucking vibe. I kinda like it, minus the ear bleeds and horrendous scene/shot transitions. ☁

In the trailer alone Dilraba does more acting than the entirety of the first 13 episodes of, "The Flame's Daughter." I'm deceased. Killer opening, tho, music legit made me anxious. Hoping this will be a better ride, CW's aside, acting and story-wise. :V Need me some depth, please and ty.

spot on. I'm @13 and you've summed up all my feelings and reasoning behind not wanting to continue with this surface, skeletal narrative. Lackluster, but could have been interesting, esp as I like this strange take for an ML (to me he felt like an anime ML come to life in many respects, and I kinda dig it.) I also feel like as an actor Dilraba Dilmurat is honestly just kind of mediocre and basically a character actor as I rarely see much difference in her capabilities, expression, or overall affect-- I am pretty convinced she's just chosen for her looks and overall lukewarm acting that can (usually) pass as whatever character description they attempt to tag her with. The only time I've seen her truly "lively" in any of her shows is being coy and coquettish (but it works when the role calls for it, I'm all for it). This sorta turned into a weird tangent, but this has been a ruminating thought on her for a while now and felt super apparent in this show. I do hope she's cast in more shows and can have an opportunity to grow. I see potential in her, but she feels so hollow. As for this Drama, I can see with more exposition this would make for a decent novel, and why it was picked up. Whoever did the adaption screenwriting should have a look in the mirror. lmao

yes. but we were spoilering based on the episode I was at, and answering questions in regards to that specific spot within the drama. lol.

When it's rated G. Think I'll keep the the original

you good (:

Y'all are absolute champs ;o; <3

Ahh, you spoiled it for me, but agreed about the VIP thing- definitely hampers things. I'm terrified of paying for subs incase I'll somehow get in trouble? Because people say VIKI isn't legal yet they have a sub platform.... I'm new-ish to the fandom so I am very confused and don't want any legal troubles.