Eleison

I just love, love that so many people can see past the slow pace of this drama to appreciate the brilliant, beautiful, intricate writing! It makes me so happy. ☺️

Um, I think a way I would choose to put it instead is describe him as having a character arc, cause he GROWS as the episodes progress. 😏

I never thought he was a frustrating idiot, but he is not as brilliant as Chang Su in Season 1, sure (but no one is as brilliant as Chang Su). PJ certainly makes more mistakes, but he also does so many cool things. 😉 He's by no means a slouch!

I loved his character, and his bond with his older brother. Just the sweetest!

Agree with @Immortaltalking. I don't think it will ruin season 1 because all the characters are new in this season (but still connected/related to the characters in season 1). It's not illogical (in any poor writing sort of way, only maybe in the way Cdramas, as a type of media, are illogical 🤣). It's REALLY good. Highly recommend!

Yes, I agree with you!! This is a good way of describing the differences. :)

Though I never thought Pinjing was a brat. Just kind of wild and free and not super worried about conventions and rules since he wasn't carrying the responsibility of Changlin's power and influence.

Glad you liked it! Based on your description it seemed like you would. I tried to see if it was on your completed list so I wouldn't give a rec you'd already watched but maybe I missed it on your list. 🫣

Then try He Who Rules The World. :)

Will do! 😏

Thanks for the link to FoF. Maybe I'll have to give xianxia another shot. 😅

Hello!

I feel like FoF is on a platform I don't have access to last I checked? I will have to check again. I will look into it, though! I still haven't been able to get into any xianxia so far. 🫣

I watched Flourished Peony and In The Name Of Blossom and really liked them. I was thinking about some stuff from them for days. 😅 The way the leads' relationshop was depicted was very unique, so it gave me a lot of food for thought.

I need to finish Law and the City (which I liked so far!), and am not yet sold on Legend of the Female General. It's pretty cheesy so far, but I'm curious to see if it will get better since apparently they had to rush a bunch of reshooting in the beginning episodes. But I love the Mulan trope (it was done better by Disney (animated) so far. 😅 I enjoyed seeing Liu Yifei in Dream of Splendor, though! She was lovely.).

Anyway, I'm just dipping my toes here and there into a few things to see what sticks.

How about you?

Thank you!

Yes, I liked In The Name Of Blossom!

I love the screenwriter for Pinocchio, I Hear Your Voice, and While You Were Sleeping, and LJS was the lead for all three of those (the last two are definitely in my top ten of all time). That screenwriter in some ways really made his career what it is! He got so famous with her dramas. ☺️

Haha, they did do a good job making Hong Kong look inviting. It'd honestly be my first choice to visit as far as cities in China go. I've been to Vegas (each time I go the less I like it), so I'll skip Macau; not sure my asthma would like Beijing.

And tiny firm vs. a huge one (and clearly one with many ambitious lawyers). I doubt a firm that big would have many (or maybe any) lawyers who cared about integrity and compassion over making money, though. I don't think you can make it into a firm like that without being both brilliant AND cutthroat.

It definitely has undertones of sexual tension. I've watched friendship bromance, and more is definitely implied here than friendship (more on Yohan's side than Gaon's, though).

Agree with @ShortCircuit about it being disturbing at points, and not very hopeful about justice or society in general, I'd say.

It's true, some people do pick dramas that way.

That said, Korea doesn't cast ANY actors for lead roles that aren't beautiful. There might be degrees of prettiness and beauty preference among the drama actors/actresses, but one thing they all have in common is they're all VERY good-looking. 😉

And there are certainly pretty actors who can't act among this roster as well, but I personally don't think LJS and MGY are among them.

LJS's character totally messed up taking his ex-girlfriend's case. Did you see that part and where he admitted it was stupid? What about their frustrated argument in Episode 2 about the best way to handle a case and both later rethink their positions because of what the other person said? I'd say they're nuanced and their faults are subtle, rather than just saying their characters are too perfect and stiff.

They feel like actual people instead of caricatures of them, which dramas tend to do with characters. I think they're doing great, but that's just me. 🤷‍♀️

I would say people are going into this with the wrong expectations. They expect Beyond The Bar or Extraordinary Attorney Woo or While You Were Sleeping or Law School and this is not like any of those.

When I compare the writing and quality to other dramas that are well done (i.e. acting, writing, pacing, editing, etc.), it's comparable. So from what I've observed, it is just the genre which is not to everyone's taste. Very slow-paced (though not meandering), with basically a "lawyers food group" that meet frequently over meals near their lawyers firm. There are also cases sprinkled throughout for each lawyer and they take turns being featured, helping each other with quandaries, working through personal struggles, etc.

😅😅 Maybe I'll try that!

It's not in the tags yet, so... unlikely? The interactions between the ML and FL in this remind me of My Mister or Stranger (S1), in that they have a mutual respect and admiration for each other, and maybe ever so slightly the hint of something more (but you'd miss it if you weren't looking for it).

The leads in this also both recently broke up with someone: the FL with her fiance, and the ML with his wife, so, I think them getting together would be a bit of rebound anyway.😉

But I guess we'll see!

This is very helpful, thank you!