DramaAjumma

You can blame Ryang Eum if that's any consolation. :D
But the reality is everyone has their baggage in this show. The timing has to be right too. Feelings aren't enough.

I can't say I'm the least bit surprised at the ending. In some ways it's not really unexpected. We're only at the halfway mark. The timing doesn't seem to be ever right and the leads have a lot of baggage ie. people that prevent them from being together. I can imagine that there will be a few deaths before they can be together. The parallels with Gone with The Wind are quite compelling regardless of whether this is just a homage or a full blown adaptation. Although I think Gil-chae is more likeable and self-aware than Scarlett who was a thorough going narcissist. The cultural and geopolitical context ensures that this show take a different trajectory. I really like how Gil-chae has transformed since the early days when she was an entitled brat who dreamt of love. She's more or less become the head of her family whether or not she's officially recognized as such.

I really like the approach that the writer has taken especially in this context of vassalage to the Manchurians and exile. It's a breath of fresh air to have both leads written as calculating, strong-minded individuals. I also love how the whole theme of adapting or compromising under difficult circumstances plays out in the plot and characterization with such great consistency.

This must be one of the more realistic sageuks I've ever seen in quite a few years. I think the last one that had this kind of bitter bite was Nokdu Flower. Very underrated but brilliantly made sageuk.

I think the word you're looking for is "superb".

Is it that realistic? I certainly wouldn't be using that as my argument. :P My problem is one of plotting. The writer is trying to contrive survivor's guilt when there's no need for it.

I don't disagree that he has always liked even when he didn't realise it. But to buy a woman a ring and put pressure on her because you sense some competition? I don't know. It certainly doesn't make me think well of Do-jin.

Not a fan of how the romance played out. All it did is diminish the characters especially Do-jin. Why would you even buy a ring for a woman you suspect has feelings for someone else? It makes absolutely no sense. And then all the guilt that the other parties feel. Just so as to protract the push and pull. The ring is a poorly developed and poorly used motif for the "complex" relationship among the three.

3-6 are okay. Has all the plus and minuses of the first season. It's more glaring this season because it doesn't have all the flash and bang to hide the issues. Ultimately the science and the social commentary takes precedence.

https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/my-dearest-2023-first-impressions

My first impressions of the first five episodes. Under spoiler tags.

Unfortunately this is all of human history in a nutshell. So is slavery by the way.

If you're going to copy, copy from the best. Nothing wrong with that. There's nothing new under the sun.

Not in the US. Australia.

Really? I have a standard pass and I have no problems watching it.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -- George Santayana

The lads going off to war reminds me of accounts of WW1 when everyone with patriotic fervour went off to war thinking they were embarking on some great adventure and that they would be back home by Christmas. Nothing against patriotism but the idealism always feels misplaced and palpable with dramatic irony.

War changes everything. Some people do well in peace time and others rise to the occasion for war.

Nothing like good old fashion siege tactics.

This is the best kind of sageuk. Tragic, brutal, melancholic and gritty.

I think with contemporary dramas they cut the production team a lot more slack. I don't watch a lot of contemporary romances but I remember the one with Hu Ge and Elvis Han called Good Time. Hu Ge's character was involved with three women all up.

Wow... this is so good. It has the potential to be the best K drama this year. The script is amazing. It makes really good use of the geopolitical context. It's hilarious one minute, deeply moving the next and then the end of Episode 2... utterly heartbreaking.
The leads as expected are great together and apart.

Right. :D
I spend a large chunk of my weekend arguing with Tushan Jing fans here. I expected a ship war and honestly it's not that bad in this fandom. I've seen much worse. At least it gave me some material for my blog and perhaps even ideas for a review. :P

Well done and beautifully written. You've definitely covered all the bases here.

I also agree that Tushan Jing is the weakest link here. The way he functions in the narrative makes it difficult for me to root for the romance. I was just thinking that a more experienced, maybe older actor could bring something else to the table. It boggles my mind too that such an acclaimed chess player would be so easily outsmarted by his own family.

I think that's more the case with South Korea. (Although that's changing too) I have watched Chinese shows where the ML and FL have other love interests before they become a couple.

I love the direct way you put things. :D

I don't think you really understand what I'm saying or have said elsewhere.

I've never said that he doesn't love her. I've also never said she's not in love with him. I've also never said that she can't love a nice guy. What I've said on other occasions is that he isn't more deserving of her than anyone else because all the guys are good to her in their own way. I only don't agree that he is "better". And I also think she is very strongly attracted to Xiang Liu.

I've also been clear that it's his niceness is what she fell for. Absolutely. But his niceness is a double edged sword. This is what you don't seem to understand. When a man is nice that's very attractive to a girl with abandonment issues BUT a man as nice as him seems incapable of dealing with external threats. He let his family walk all over him. Do you not think that is a problem? Do you not think that a man should be able to protect the woman he loves from his family's infighting and fulfill his promises to make her feel secure. Their romance doesn't exist in a vacuum in this context. He has serious family issues and he is officially engaged to another woman. This has nothing to do with whether he ends up with her at the end of the story.

I don't mind what your preferences are. All I'm doing is pointing out the flaw in the character. He is not perfect and there's nothing inherently wrong with that. I don't need to read the novel to understand something as rudimentary as that.

So are you saying that the performance has not adequately portrayed the character's inner life? :D That the performance is somehow deficient. Because I have no problems understanding the inner life of other characters without reading the novel.

I don't use the words "deserve" or "undeserving" in these kinds of contexts. It's not a competition. I have accepted the inevitable but all I'm saying is that Tushan Jing has his flaws and he doesn't get the girl purely because of his own merits. He has a lot of help.