DramaAjumma

I'm not sure if you're new around the forum but this is a conversation that we've had on other occasions here and in Part 1. I've addressed this point even on my blog.

To be honest, I'm not sure what the actors are trying to achieve with those sorts of comments. Maybe they're just trying not to romanticize the relationship between the leads too much or downplay Ling Buyi's heroic qualities. Or anti-hero qualities. But it's loud and clear from the actual storyline that the two of them are destined to meet. There's no two ways about it. Regardless of whether we think it is wise for Ling Buyi to propose marriage to Shaoshang, he met her, he fell for her and he did whatever he could to protect her even when he thought she was going to marry some other guy. When the actors or other viewers say that it would have been better that they hadn't met -- my question is: Better than what? What are we comparing her relationship with Ling Buyi to? Knowing what Shaoshang is like, do we really believe that if she was somehow shipped off to a village somewhere that trouble will stop following her.

Would she be happier with some other guy? Maybe. But that's moot because we simply don't know. We only have hypothetical situations to consider.

I'm agreeable about not idealizing her situation with Ling Buyi, the Dark Knight but the assumption that she would be better off with A'Yao is predicated on the fact that nothing tragic or perilous would happen to her in the future when there's no Ling Buyi around to save her. Shaoshang is prone to getting herself into all kinds of scrapes. Who's to say that she will suddenly become passive and keep her thoughts to herself?

Besides, this is a work of fiction which features two larger than life characters as romantic leads. Cheng Shaoshang is not some ordinary girl like Yangyang who will sit still and do what she's told. It's obvious from the whole show. Ling Buyi knows this too and that's why he fell in love with her in the first place.

He's always several steps behind.
The more I think about it, the more I wonder why he's even in the story.

Far be it for me to be putting a damper on things but life in a rural village isn't always all that it's cracked up to be either. Living off the land is very hard work -- it's very much dependent on the elements. Not to mention natural disasters -- flooding occurred routinely and infant mortality. Medical care wouldn't be anywhere near as good as what's on offer in the bigger cities. War comes to villages too especially if they're on the fringes where bandits and raiders can pillage for food supply and women.

There's no guarantee that Shaoshang would live past her 25th birthday.

It's a trade-off. I wouldn't idealize life in rural China anymore than life with Ling Buyi.

Well, what can I say? The man's in love.

We were long overdue for another superhero Ling Buyi moment and thankfully we got one!

This show is just so much fun. I didn't think it was possible to get that much mileage out of the duck or chicken feathers gag but the show's done it!

I'm really pleased at how the various points of intersections are coming together. It's certainly picked up after a slow start. The team dynamics are better (still getting a laugh or two out of me) than ever while the show continues to explore what constitutes a "model" detective through the partnership of Do-chang and Ji-hyeok as they're ably but idiosyncratically supported by the rest of Team 2.

At this point TJ Group feels like a house of cards with the chairman in detention and his offspring are both mentally unstable to say the least. The man who is holding it altogether for now has the thankless task of mediating between the antagonistic siblings (or half siblings). Clearly the cupboard can only contain so many skeletons before it bursts wide open.

Cheon Na-na reading The Brothers Karamazov is really interesting too.

Very versatile actor that's at home with comedy and angst. His dynamic with the actress that plays Cheon Na-na is really good stuff.

No problems dear! Thanks for the support.

My main criticism of the drama at this point is the juggling act. It's trying to do far more than the format is able to achieve. Because of that, it gives the impression that the main romance is some kind of appendage or optional extra when it really isn't. It's doing far too much. On another note, I always knew that the show was going for a Min-woo Su-yeon pairing because they fit the typical rom com trope but I think the show's left it rather late to do a convincing sell.

As someone who thinks that the romance is absolutely vital to Young-woo's journey, I don't think that the primary purpose of the romance is to show that it is possible for an autistic person to have that kind of relationship with a neural-typical. The function of the romance here is far more important than that -- what the romance does is to expedite the growth of Young-woo as a human being. This is first and foremost a coming of age story of a person diagnosed with autism navigating the world that for her is practically a foreign country. Romance takes her right out of her comfort zone and helps her see the world with a fresh set of eyes, while expanding her toolkit in terms of human interactions. While romancing her, Jun-ho acts as a kind of guide to a different dimension of life that was previously closed off to her because a man like him (equipped with the tools to communicate with her) was not a part of her day to day interactions. All of her experiences with Jun-ho is part of the maturation process where she learns how to communicate and accommodate on a different level.

My thoughts on Episodes 41-42.
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/love-like-the-galaxy-2022-episodes-042
Thanks for visiting and reading.

I don't think there's much of a comparison to be honest. I don't mind getting incinerated for saying this. :D
What Yang Yang does well is go all out on romantic and love scenes which accounts for his popularity but his actual range is fairly limited.

I don't mind being an equal opportunity critic of Ling Buyi when the time comes but I personally prefer the courtesy of having seen the episodes in question before I actually criticize anyone or anything.. I haven't read the novel and to be honest I don't intend to. What I don't appreciate is people talking about this event before it even happens in the drama. It assumes that there is only one way to look at a set of events.

At the end of the day, it's her choice.

I'm looking forward to reading my thoughts on the episodes as well.
;)

I love LBY apologists. I may even consider myself one. But I really want to see the episodes unfold before I come to any conclusions about what he does when the time comes. I'm trying very hard to keep an open mind.

LOL. "Matchmakers have no business running countries"
Amen.

Episode 41 was just lovely. It's such a joy to watch the two of them arrive at this point of accommodation and understanding. The only time I stopped smiling was when I was cackling away.

The scene where Zisheng was chewing the flatbread grumpily reminded me of Fei Liu.

Thoughts of Episodes 39-40
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/love-like-the-galaxy-2022-episodes-083
Thanks for reading and all your comments. Now watching 41.

Can I plead with commenters who have read ahead or watched previews to provide warnings about what the spoilers are going to be about? I really really want to watch next week's episodes in context with an open mind.
I don't mind reading spoilers about episodes that have already aired but I'd like to stay clear of speculations and spoilers from the novel.
Thank you.