Firefly88

Really? I don't get Fenglong at all. He's more buddy material imo. Personally, I think Cangxuan is underrated. He made some major mistakes early on but I have a weak spot for CX... If she can't have Xiang Liu, then I'd rather pair her with CX as queen.

Keep watching and you may change your mind. I did. There's a lot of personal growth in this drama.

This is not a typical C drama with Mr. Right cliches. She has a strong connection with all of the MLs... It's a beautiful drama with lots of big feelings and mature topics.

Her cousin and her are deeply devoted to each other and have been since childhood, but she sees him as family, not a lover. He however is bound by royal duty, but secretly loves her.
There is her lover who is devoted to her but trapped by complicated family bs and keeps letting her down because he is too weak willed and gentle.
There is the soulmate who is bound by military duty and scarred by the same traumas as her which has made him aggressive. He has bound his life to her.

Life is complicated and this show totally gets that. Who will she end up with? Who knows... It depends on whether they follow the novel or whether the story takes an unexpected turn in the drama.

The last two episodes made the story richer and more interesting for me. Definitely picked up.

I have rewatched it so many times I can't watch it anymore. Hoping if I have a long break it will feel fresh again one day. This drama is perfection in every way.

Well, I actually checked that before asking but it said Bai Jue was Hong Ruo and when I checked the cast list, that was a female character so I figured there must be some mistakes there.

Thank you. I knew the actors would be different, just curious whether they make an appearance here.

I checked that before asking, but there appears to be some mistake because Bai Jue is listed as Hong Ruo and I checked the cast and that's a female character.

What are the new names for Shanggu and Bai Jue and are they in this drama?

Same. No doubt this drama is amazing in many ways, but it is slow, monotonous and incredibly detailed so it's hard to remember and focus. I found this drama too hard to focus on even though it was clearly very high quality.

How could a director with such an impressive portfolio make this snoozefest, cliched drama? He has directed some of my favourite dramas but this was just.... wow. So underwhelming it deserves a prize for wasting the collective talent of a great cast. The screenwriter too, wow... What were they thinking?! 7.9 is too high a score. 7/10 is being kind honestly. If it didn't have Wang Hedi and Bai Luo, this rating would be a 7.5.

People choosing to watch a drama ABOUT an age gap romance and getting upset about the age gap. *facepalm*
Like watching a horror movie and complaining it's scary! Lol

I have really mixed feelings about this drama. There have been some really funny parts, but the non-comedy elements of this story are really failing to pack a punch for me. The last episode for me was a bit of a snoozefest. I feel like this should either commit to the comedy or be a bit deeper and more soulful, because personally I'm struggling to maintain interest. I am not fond of Ji Chang Wook's character yet, just seems a bit bland so far. Meh. Hope it picks up.

Honestly, the best part of this drama was the historical storyline. The modern one was a snoozefest. The first few episodes were a waste of time and a lot of idol strutting and posing. A lot of subplots were shallow.
This story had a lot of promise and delivered in some ways and really didn't in others. One thing this drama needed was some passion and sex appeal. If they had turned up the heat a bit, it would have been better, but the modern time couple were just uninteresting. They had much better chemistry in the historical setting.

I agree!

Definitely. The modern life is poorly executed.

Agreed! She had much better chemistry with him, but I think this is in part due to the writing and in part poor casting. Her relationship with the SML is actually developed much more, they spend much more time together and he has far more dialogues with her than the ML. Strange choices by the writers.

Yeah, I think they could have spent a bit longer on the island showing her survival, but I liked how they tied flashbacks into the story afterwards too.

She really is! I look forward to it.

I was reluctant to watch this drama because the theme didn't appeal to me, but it totally surprised me because this drama has so much heart and soul... It is so moving and deep. It tackles some seriously big issues and feelings and does so with a lot of maturity and insight. It doesn't shy away from dark realities but at the same time it leaves you hopeful.

I am consistently so impressed by Park Eun Bin's projects and how they evade K drama cliches and instead opt for substance. Whereas many actors end up playing the same role over and over, she transforms in every role. I look forward to what she does next!