Eleison

In Episode 16 (of the 30 minute episodes). Robot Nam Shin is so cute, and Seo Kang Joon plays him so well!! I am a bit confused by how compassionate and balanced Nam Shin's programming is. He prioritizes people and their needs and wants good things for them. That said, I feel like the rules given to him by his programmer would reflect the goodness of the programmer, too. But the mother doesn't seem to be a good enough person to program someone as lovely as Nam Shin. That's the only part I really find unrealistic in the premise (you know, minus the whole robot passing for a human and all 😋).

I think all the characters so far are endearing, though the mom is not hitting a chord with me quite as much as the others. Seung Woo is doing a great job (I really loved him in Moment At Eighteen and was shocked to find it was basically his debut); can't wait to see his acting chops unfold. I like that the mains (minus grandma and a few other supporting actors) are a lot of new or overshadowed faces from other dramas who are getting time in the limelight. This IS very goofy and even slapstick at times, more so than I remembered from the original, but when I thought about it more, the original WAS also very goofy at times. I remember skipping all the gangster scenes and Min hyuk's employee scenes because they were too cringey acting-wise. Even though I loved the original, I also remember getting emotional whiplash from the shift in tone from slapstick gangsters to the uber serious serial kidnapper/creepo plot. We'll see how I hold up with the humor in this one moving forward. So far, cute and enjoyable. :)

Yeah, it seems completely illogical to draw it out for SO LONG. It's only 14 episodes, too.

I think she's also embarrassed and too self-conscious to explain the curse. 😏

Yes, all the lead up to the misunderstanding WAS cute! He was definitely trying to do right by her (though he was struggling to read the cues she was sending that were screaming, "Beat it, kid. Stop following me!" 😅). And he couldn't have known she'd turn into a human the next day; he probably stayed in the room to make sure she didn't run off or something. I also loved how earlier he rattled off the names of the troublemakers to uncle and uncle treated him like any other student and didn't blow his cover. They were on each other's side and both looking out for Hae Na. 😏 I bet uncle and nephew will continue to have cute scenes together! They remind me of the brothers' cute interactions in While You Were Sleeping.

But when her coworker finds her on his nephew's bed (and when said nephew also happens to be HER student)... nope, nope, nope. Don't know how you talk yourself off that ledge without telling the truth... 😳 😱 I can see this sort of misunderstanding being a perfectly innocent teacher's worst nightmare.

Haha, yes! It has to be stretched out for maximum view time. 😏 And the misunderstandings and poor communication can sometimes be interesting and entertaining, but if it's not finessed properly it's just frustrating. 😅

I loved that the ML's attempt at the classic Kdrama arm grab was an epic fail. 😅 And his humiliated expression after getting yanked back towards her instead (accompanied by the cutesy sounds) was priceless.

Yes, definitely agree some scenes were too long!

That confused me a bit, too. My guess is some of that scene/what happened was imagined (since that shot showed the SML's face which was also wrong)? Another theory is that he was too shocked and stunned to react and/or he already likes her a bit; she just seems to attract his worst nightmare when they're together which is why he avoids her. 🤷‍♀️

This confused me because the first time she woke up she was wearing the dress her sister draped her in when she fell asleep as a dog? Isn't that what happened? I wondered if they did this second turning for dramatic effect since it makes the scene SO much more embarrassing this way?

Yeah, I figured the communication option (i.e. telling him the truth, which seems the most logical at this point), would not make this a drama anymore, haha. You've got to have inexplicable reasons for not sharing vital information with someone that could make everyone's lives easier and better if you're scripting a drama. I know what I've signed up for by now and will appropriately suspend disbelief, BUT, that said, early on would have been the best time for her to tell him because while it is obviously mortifying for your coworker to know this (can't beat a student knowing, though; that's MUCH worse), at the beginning she didn't even like him or even really care what he thought of her, so why not just tell him then when it didn't really matter? He seems like a reasonable dude, even if he doesn't seem to like her much; he'd probably oblige to help her out. I mean, how could he refuse to give her a quick peck to help her avoid remaining a dog forever? But of course, this would leave us with no story! 😋

Ah, got it, so, I've just got to keep watching... until January. 😅

It's a nice change to see Eun Woo playing a role that could be his own age since he usually plays high schoolers/students.

The first two episodes were quite cute, and surprisingly funny without being completely ridiculous despite the premise, but the end of Episode 2... 😳

I like the effort that goes into explaining the details of Hae Na's situation, unlike Meow, The Secret Boy which explained virtually nothing of the mechanics of what happened or why anything happened (or what was explained made little sense).

I am confused by the Joseon Period scenes inserted--what on earth are they supposed to be? At this point they were so random and I was completely lost. And I'm waiting to hear how the curse can be broken for good... 😏

Also, anyone know why they're taking forever to release the whole thing? I feel like it will lose momentum if they draw it out for so long? 🤨

Yeah, don't know how she can talk herself out of that one! The nephew couldn't have known she would turn back to her human self or anticipate the awkwardness that would ensue, but at least he could have slept on the couch in another room!!

Thank you! 😊

I finally finished this! It took me quite a long time; it's hard to binge because it's so long, but you also can't wait too long or else you forget important details since there are so many moving parts and SO many characters. I read somewhere that once a year China releases a Cdrama that has more people in one scene than a Kdrama has in the entire cast--so true! My word, I still can't get over the massive scale of this drama. It also looks like they were constantly battling rainy weather throughout filming since the ground in Luoyang is wet 75% of the time. 😂

Zhao Lusi was fantastic! And ultimately, I thought it was a super enjoyable drama. A tight script and story, great acting, beautiful cinematography, even though you DO have to suspend disbelief quite a few times (I've gotten used to this with Kdramas, though, so I was prepared). The cultural value system was tough for me to get--and also hard for me to get behind--sometimes, but they still managed to make me care about and root for the main leads despite their many flaws and the foreign system of ethics the drama had me navigate. For instance, as an American I don't have much context for the filial piety stuff and I thought it was strange to see "disobedience" used as the most powerful weapon to threaten every child into submission (also, a ridiculous amount of slapping (though this might just be a drama trope, not a cultural thing?) and what loving parent beats their daughter like that?); the irony is that our main leads got away with all manner of stuff that should have gotten them killed multiple times in that time and system but they somehow kept managing to escape serious punishment.

I loved how often the main leads used their wits to solve situations together (both were incredibly smart and perceptive; they were a great match that way) and the way they trusted each other at the end. I also love that Zisheng's interest in Shaoshang was piqued before he even saw what she looked like; she intrigued him from their first mysterious encounter.

It ended perfectly (or almost; it really was a bummer there was no wedding ceremony, and after all the drawn out parts with Empress Xuan (she was lovely, but she always took forever to say things and the scenes with her just went on and on!), I really think they could have spent more time showing them all happy).

I loved that they brought back all the characters we'd come to love and care about for the final two episodes and brought everyone's stories full circle (minus the third Uncle and Aunt). Though, we never do meet Shaoshang's older brother; wonder why they even bothered writing that brother in? 🤷‍♀️

While I loved all the parts for different reasons, I think the coziest, most nostalgic parts were when Shaoshang was adjusting to her home with all the new family members (and those epic run-ins that she had with her mom), and when she came into her own when she travelled to Hua County with her uncle and aunt. The last two episodes were pretty great, too, and getting to see Zisheng and Shaoshang constantly having to learn how to be a couple was also great to watch (though Zisheng was absolutely insufferable for a few episodes at the end of Part 1; I was right there with Shaoshang when she told him she'd had ENOUGH).

I will definitely revisit this sometime when I am in a slump and want something cozy that will last a few weeks. Will look back on this with great fondness!!

True, that's a great point. And when I really think about it, other religions are also portrayed inaccurately in Kdramas, so I'm probably being overly sensitive about this one's fantastical take on Christianity. That said, the portrayal IS a large part of why I didn't love it, so I think what I said can be helpful for some in trying to decide if they'll like this drama or not. A comment like this would have helped me know what I was getting into, and that this drama probably wouldn't be my thing. Hopefully that makes sense. :)

Thanks! There were definitely cozy things about this drama!

Definitely has a lot of conversations and moving parts; I personally find the conversations for the most part fascinating and complex, so while there's not a lot of "action," I find all these subtle interactions between characters, and the interplay as they make mistakes and grow, really interesting. Some of these interactions are more engaging than others. But I can see how that might not be everyone's thing. Some of the scenes are quite long!