DramaAjumma

This show only seems to get better and better. I honestly didn't expect much but it's exceeding my expectations.
I love the leads unwavering devotion to each other. Even if Yu'er is something of an anachronism, somehow it all makes sense in light of all the plotting and scheming. Their chemistry is super good. I can't wait for The South Wind Knows My Mood.

This is my first time with the actress and I like her! She's doing a decent job as far as I'm concerned. I love her interactions with Qi Yan. I particularly enjoy the knowing look that she gives when he does the obligatory grumpy emperor shtick.

Seems like Mango doesn't throw a lot of money at these sorts of project. The production values are not especially high but I'm enjoying the storyline and the show is doing some interesting things with women here. No one denies its flaws or limitations but I feel that the FL is on some palpable growth arc. Even if she's not as savvy with the political side of things she's at the very least teachable and for the young emperor who can't trust anyone she is someone he can rely on to have his back. For him, a gifted martial artist to be essentially under house arrest it is something of a lifeline. He needs her if for no other reason than to feel that in this bleak world there's something going for him .

I wouldn't say she's dumb. Impulsive yes, naive at times but she can be quick on the uptake. At least she understands that some ruthlessness is needed.

Seems to get better as the show progresses. The male leads are good. I've seen Han Dong in other shows. The female lead is fine if rather unrealistic for that sort of era. She's written more as a rom com figure than serious bodyguard material for the young emperor, who probably has better martial arts than she does.

It's not going to raise the bar on the genre or break new ground but it's very entertaining. At least I don't find myself cringing at the FL's antics.

It's quite watchable. Interestingly enough it doesn't feel like a palace drama but more like a wuxia drama. And that's fine with me.
The male lead is the standout so far -- a hapless figurehead emperor but at least he's trying to play the long game. I don't mind the female lead.

I don't mind Unforgettable Love but this show has a bit more gravitas and depth.

Episode 15-18 contains what seems to me to be the saddest yet most enriching part of the drama. The storytelling was wonderfully absorbing as Yu Tu goes on a journey of self-discovery when he's away from the noise of everyone telling him how he should be living his life. There's a surprising lack of Jingjing and yet we never really miss her because he's always thinking about her when he's not at work doing nerdy things. All those poignant moments where he's sitting alone contemplating about what he'd lost. When his colleagues talk about the "girlfriend", he never denies it or corrects them. Refreshingly it isn't that Yu Tu doesn't know what he wants. He is fully aware but he feels a moral imperative to hold himself back considering the kind of life he leads. The sickening realisation that Jingjing was the only one that understood from the beginning the impulses that drove him to aerospace research finally dawns on him. Not his parents, not the ex. But Qiao Jingjing -- the girl he turned down not once but twice.

In a C drama drought year, this has been an oasis in the desert.

I don't think anyone is saying that relatable characters or characters with strong moral compasses (whatever that means) aren't needed. But it's how you incorporate those sorts of characters into the mix that is what's being questioned here. No one denies that the rule of law is the bedrock of a civilized society but when we have a situation where the oligarchs have a tight grip on the key levers of power, more out-of-the-box thinking is needed.

To be honest I'm not that convinced that Soo-hyun is any kind of great moral anchor either. All she seems to be doing is trying to protect Ga-on from dangerous situations at best. I don't see her being motivated by any real convictions of the rule of law. She's not wrong in thinking that Yo-han is dangerous. But so are Cha Kyung-hee, Jung Sun-ah and the rest of the Social Reform Foundation. In fact, I find her dangerous too because of her tendency towards recklessness. She doesn't seem to be all that interested in dismantling what is in essence a deeply corrupt system that's tending towards totalitarianism. Her priority is just to shield Ga-on from perceived harm. It doesn't matter what's going on top down as long as nothing happens to Ga-on. It's all very romantic I'm sure except there are some real systemic issues that can't be dealt with just by cops trying their best while their masters are manipulating the system left right and centre.

There are undoubtedly competing agendas going on in this show and no one it seems to me is above reproach. If they can all find some way of working together to take down the Social Reform Foundation that would be good. That's the best we can hope for. I don't think we should fool ourselves that anyone in this show is driven by purely high-minded ideals.

It's actually Doctor Prisoner... just in case you can't find it. Namgoong Min is fantastic but his adversaries are also great.

I like the whole Batman and Catwoman thing that's going on between Yohan and Sung-ah. It's fun and wow, do they sizzle or what! Such great actors. It's great to have female villains that are circumspect.

Sometimes I don't know what to think of Soo-hyun either. She doesn't annoy me in as much as she seems I dunno... out of place. I imagine she's there to be some kind of moral anchor for Ga-on lest he stray too far from home. But sadly that's all she is and because of how she's included in the story she feels more like an interruption more times than a welcomed addition. In a show filled with so many larger than life characters, she's rendered almost irrelevant in the scheme of things. I liked the actress in Sweet Home but I think the writing there for her character made sense in light of what was going on. Here she's an odd mix of romantic interest and busybody cop bumbling around. I just don't think it really works for this story at least not in the way the story is being told. I'm not sure that the two of them trying to protect each other from getting their hands dirty speaks well of their dynamic either.

How can there be too much aerospace stuff when the male lead is an aerospace engineer? The man has to make a living doesn't he? The drama has to show us somehow that he's good at what he does.

I thought so too. I loved it.

I know this is based on a novel but it really reminds me of a J-K drama from a while back. Boku to Star no 99 Nichi. The male lead was an astronomer turned security guard and the female lead was also a movie star. It starred Kim Tae-hee and Nishijima Hidetoshi.

Wow. What a refreshing C drama this is! It doesn't have the female lead doing cringey embarrassing slapstick in the first few episodes and the leads behave like real people and not tropes dragged out of an overused rom com playbook.
Pigs can fly.

Of all the trashy rom coms I've seen this year, this is one that I was able to get on board with with a bit of help from the FF button. I'm a sucker for contract marriages anyway and this one was reasonably fun. While I liked the leads, the MVP award definitely goes to the kid who played Xiao Bao. Without him, there's no doubt that this would be a different show.

No one has died? Really? Might like to take another look at Episode 8.

She's a terrific actress. What's not to like?

I think it's good. One of the better time skip dramas.

365: Repeat the Year