Eleison

I loved the scene where the FL and ML butt heads about the eviction case.

Both of their perspectives were founded upon very reasonable, thoughtful considerations that approached the issue from completely different angles (and then I loved how the other person's perspective continued to nag at their own perspective afterward, too; if I were the FL, I would find that kind of thing so flattering--to know I got someone thinking so hard that my opinion stuck with them and bothered them, like a pebble in their shoe 😅).

They clearly both care a great deal about their work and the people they work with, but the ML has had to cool the jets of his compassion a bit to stay sane, and it's allowed him to also see more of the bigger picture that maybe a younger, more inexperienced lawyer will find it harder to do.

I think when communities like this get bigger and more traffic, you run into more contrarians because the interest is no longer as niche and there's just more traffice in general (like YouTube comments are wild and run the gambit of totally sane to totally insane; I still feel MDL is vastly more inviting of a community, and more people are here to legitimately enjoy and discuss dramas).

But it is annoying when killjoys come and just want to harping and spread negativity and who also can't handle respectfully stated differing opinions. I definitely think it's gotten worse, but particularly for the more popular dramas. Only the dramas that are basically perfect seem to escape a lot of this, and those of course are far and few between.

Cdrama pages tend to be more positive (again, more niche dramas still, I think, and less accessible than Kdramas, but they can also border on too thirsty sometimes, and then I get uncomfortable and bail 😅).

I love that theory! 😉

Watchers can fill in the gaps during the week with KoreanEnglishman videos of people discovering Korean food.😋

It honestly all looks so delicious, but it's only because I can't smell it. The minute I'd smell that fishy smell that accompanies all the seafood they're eating/cooking I know I'd lose my appetite immediately because that smell always transports me to the pier at the beach. 😅 (Also, I've noticed there's a certain level of proficiency with food that anyone going out to eat in Korea needs to have; cause a lot of dining there (and enjoying the food at its best) has to do with cooking your own food at the table. 😅).

It's much more of an East Asian dining experience in general, I think? Americans see that as getting ripped off when dining out: "Why pay all this money to cook my own food?" That's kind of how my parents felt the first time I took them to Korean BBQ. 😅

This is the lowest version MKY's voice I've heard yet. It's refreshing. 😏

Yes, Episode 1 nailed the feeling of someone working an emotionally taxing and time-consuming job for 8-9 years. I resonated hardcore. 😅

That seems about right!

But I thought the Lord didn't know about it? It makes sense why it affected his mom's favor, though.

Though that's not super typical, though of course it happens (as in your case). The military seems to do it for guys in Korea (I met a 24 or 25 year old Korean guy traveling in Europe who still hadn't finished his BA because he had to serve in the military and also took a year off to travel and do charity work, so they seem to finish their BAs later than girls in Korea).

So, we have to at least factor in ML serving in the military for 18 months, yes? I assume the ML's over 30 then, for sure, if he did his BA and law school (usually two years in the U.S.--is it the same in Korea?), and then 8 years of practicing, and 18 months in the military; he's probably somewhere between 32-35? Their age gap might not be that far off from their real life age gap. 😅

Yes, it is. The middle is a bit slower, and there is one kind of frustrating rough bit between the leads in the last 1/3, but overall I thought it was great. I found the politics a bit confusing, but it will give you more of that historical feel (and less of the wuxia). It's actually apparently loosely based on some real people and historical events during one period in China's history.

As far as a favorite, it's hard to say. The Nirvana in Fire seasons I really liked almost in their entirety, but Season 1 (it really is an incredible script) is quite slow, and not for anyone who likes a plot with lots of exciting events; it's ponderous, subtle, nuanced and beautiful. Other dramas I usually have some things I LOVE and other things I have some gripes about, so none that I would say are perfect and completely enjoyable from beginning to end.

The dramas I suggested sound similar to what you like, I think, for the most part; I think we have similar taste there.

(Horses have 100% died in these dramas; the angles some of them are falling would require them to be put down, most likely; their necks are twisting unnatural directions and some are flipped onto their backs... horses can't be in those positions and function afterwards). Some horses can be taught to fall, actually, but you can tell these horses aren't trained for that. An opening sequence in Who Rules The World had a shot that made me gasp out loud as I watched, it was so bad. 🫣 I definitely have more qualms supporting Chinese production companies over Korean ones since they don't seem to have as good of laws to protect people and animals, but some of the content IS good, so I'm muscling through it for now.

Anyway, take a look at some of those dramas--they're great.:)

So I've officially decided that all the old ladies are insufferable. 😅

Also, Li Hai Chao is a GEM (and he's the only good parent in this drama; the rest are on a scale from dysfunctional to crazy-controlling to a complete wreck. 😰 So many self-decieved parents who are blind to their egos and either selfishly controlling their kids in the name of "the child's good" or just selfishly abandoning them 😳).

Why does Viki say this is 40 episodes, but MDL says 46? 🤔 Is Viki missing some episodes?

Okay, so this says horror in the main tags; how so? The description makes it sound like it's set in a historical time period, but I have yet to see a Cdrama that's historical (at best, I've seen pseudo-historical). Is it set up like "realistic" supernatural stuff set in our (the "real") world, or is it supernatural as in fantasy and in a clearly fictional world inspired by historical Chinese settings?

Ohhh, their past connection was spicier than I anticipated! 😅

I totally understand why she's annoyed with him for "forgetting"! (And why she thinks he's a "sleazebag" at this point). Because this is a Kdrama; there is of course a reason behind all the misunderstandings. I'm looking forward to seeing how they'll explain this one away. 😉

P.S. I liked the expression An Ju Hyeong made as she walked up the first time (cause he 100% recognized her) that said: "Ah... no, no, no...
I'm toast." 😅

Yeah, they should be a bit more suspicious as lawyers, yes? The drama showed that they definitely weren't walking in with their eyes closed, but something will most likely be off and it seems they fell for it. The landlord has a story in there somewhere, and more ulterior motives, I think.

It's definitely giving slice of life vibes! And reminds me of Resident Playbook vibes and friend group dynamics (haven't seen HP).

Under The Microscope also has the actor who played Fan Xian's friend who dies at the beginning of JoL, and he's great. He has a great arc, and you'll like him. Don't get scared off by the math jargon--it's not as bad or as much as it appears! 😅

I haven't! But I've seen it mentioned. I'll consider it! Dream of Splendor was quite good, too.

That's happened for me a bit, too, but I realized it's because I watched all the famous Kdramas first (because they were the ones consistently recommended and that had good ratings as I got started on my Kdrama watching journey, haha, and now I only come across really good ones every now and then because... I've seen most of them already), and now I'm doing the same with Cdramas (starting with the highly rated ones; Cdramas are really pumped out so it will take a long time to make my way through them; I just find the values of Chinese culture harder to access than Korean culture; it's less westernized and more of a learning curve. I still can't get into xianxia, either. I think it's too... abusive? Everyone suffers so much, it just seems gratuitous, almost slightly voyeuristic and just so agonizing. I haven't been able to stomach it).

And while Korea clearly values image and beauty and places lots of pressure on their actors (more than I'd like), China feels even worse to me that way; in most dramas, there's nary a hair out of place and everything is made to look PERFECT and sometimes it's unsettling (I liked Under The Microscope and Reset because they feel much more down to earth and people in it (and the world they're a part of) feel more real). They also treat horses badly in the costume dramas and don't seem to have laws like the U.S. and Europe have now for the treatment of animals, and it just makes ke worry for the actors, that they're not overworked. 😬

Joy Of Life is very good! I just wanted to see Fan Xian be the cat instead of the mouse (I liked Season 1 a bit better than 2, though I loked the part in the middle with him and Wuzhu breaking into the palace). By the end of Season 2 he's still getting caught in the king's and CPP's traps.

Zhang Ruoyun is a great actor, though. Have you seen Under The Microscope? He's great in that, too.