I trusted you, but there's a big love triangle. I finished almost half of the drama and it's still going on.
I think we're talking about two different things.
I'm not referring to your opinion of the drama or whether you enjoyed it. That's completely subjective, and I agree everyone should judge a drama for themselves.
What I'm referring to is your statement that there is no love triangle. That's different from saying you didn't mind it or that you don't personally view it as one.
You're absolutely entitled to your own opinion, but the meaning of a term isn't determined by individual opinion. Otherwise, someone could simply say, "In my opinion, a square has three sides." They're entitled to that opinion, but it doesn't change what a square is. The same applies here. We can have different opinions about whether we like a trope, but not redefine the trope itself.
Even MDL's own definition describes a love triangle as "a depiction of a romantic attraction or relationship involving three people." It doesn't say one person has to be romantically torn between two people at the same time.
This is also how the trope is commonly used in romance dramas. In countless dramas, the female lead only ever loves the male lead, while the second male lead pursues her. Those are still widely considered love triangles because the romantic dynamic involves three people. In this drama, it's even stronger because the female lead also shows interest in Yu Shu Bo for part of the story.
So my point isn't that you have to dislike the trope or change your review. It's simply that telling people there is no love triangle is misleading, because you're using a personal definition rather than the commonly understood one.
Isn't it obvious. By definition, a love triangle is a situation in which two people are in love with the same person, regardless of whether that person returns the feelings of one or both.
I trusted you, but there's a big love triangle. I finished almost half of the drama and it's still going on.
I disagree. A love triangle doesn't require the main character to have equal romantic feelings for two people at the same time. It's about three people being involved in the same romantic dynamic, where there is romantic interest or pursuit between them.
Even MDL's own definition describes a love triangle as "a depiction of a romantic attraction or relationship involving three people." It doesn't say that one person has to be equally in love with two people at the same time. The focus is on the romantic dynamic involving three people, not whether the feelings are perfectly balanced.
In fact, most romance dramas with a male lead, female lead, and second male lead are considered love triangles even when the female lead never shows romantic interest in the second male lead. The second male lead pursuing her and the story emphasizing that romantic tension is enough for viewers to recognize it as a love triangle.
This drama goes even further than that. The FL isn't just being pursued by Yu Shu Bo, she is also showing interest in him and exploring that connection for a significant part of the story. So if dramas where the FL has no interest in the second lead are still considered love triangles, then it makes even less sense to say this one isn't.
The writers deliberately highlight this dynamic and present it to the audience as a romantic possibility. That's exactly why viewers who dislike love triangles would want to know about it beforehand. So saying there are "no love triangles" is misleading.
Garbage. Dropped immediately. Too much slow burn, and the whole discovering the Black identity dragged on far too long. If you prefer SLS, and want to see the FL with more caring and interactions with the SML, then you'll love this.
Overall, I thought this drama was pretty good. I liked the overall story and the way it was set up, but there were a few things that stopped me from fully enjoying it.
The biggest issue for me was the main couple. I just didn’t feel any chemistry between the male lead and female lead. They didn’t seem like a natural match, and it often felt like they were just acting rather than genuinely connecting. Their personalities felt very different, and I couldn’t really believe their relationship. Even the romantic scenes, especially the kissing scenes, felt awkward and forced.
The second couple was another part I struggled with. The second female lead, who played an actress in the drama, was a difficult character for me to like. She came across as weak, unstable, and unsure of what she actually wanted. She constantly doubted him, questioned the relationship, and kept wanting to divorce him, so I honestly didn’t understand why the male character continued to fight for their relationship. I felt like he deserved someone who trusted and appreciated him more. By the final few episodes, I also started to lose some interest. I still finished the drama, but there were a few scenes towards the end that I found myself skipping because I wasn’t as invested anymore.
Overall, I think the story itself was good and had a lot of potential. I just felt that some of the character relationships, especially the romantic ones, weren’t convincing enough for me, which took away from my enjoyment.
On point number 4. How could the ML be dumb when he's the emperor and also a vigilante? It takes a smart, courageous, competent person to pull that off. And why would it be a feminist show? I'm only asking because i haven't watched it yet.
I'm not referring to your opinion of the drama or whether you enjoyed it. That's completely subjective, and I agree everyone should judge a drama for themselves.
What I'm referring to is your statement that there is no love triangle. That's different from saying you didn't mind it or that you don't personally view it as one.
You're absolutely entitled to your own opinion, but the meaning of a term isn't determined by individual opinion. Otherwise, someone could simply say, "In my opinion, a square has three sides." They're entitled to that opinion, but it doesn't change what a square is. The same applies here. We can have different opinions about whether we like a trope, but not redefine the trope itself.
Even MDL's own definition describes a love triangle as "a depiction of a romantic attraction or relationship involving three people." It doesn't say one person has to be romantically torn between two people at the same time.
This is also how the trope is commonly used in romance dramas. In countless dramas, the female lead only ever loves the male lead, while the second male lead pursues her. Those are still widely considered love triangles because the romantic dynamic involves three people. In this drama, it's even stronger because the female lead also shows interest in Yu Shu Bo for part of the story.
So my point isn't that you have to dislike the trope or change your review. It's simply that telling people there is no love triangle is misleading, because you're using a personal definition rather than the commonly understood one.
Even MDL's own definition describes a love triangle as "a depiction of a romantic attraction or relationship involving three people." It doesn't say that one person has to be equally in love with two people at the same time. The focus is on the romantic dynamic involving three people, not whether the feelings are perfectly balanced.
In fact, most romance dramas with a male lead, female lead, and second male lead are considered love triangles even when the female lead never shows romantic interest in the second male lead. The second male lead pursuing her and the story emphasizing that romantic tension is enough for viewers to recognize it as a love triangle.
This drama goes even further than that. The FL isn't just being pursued by Yu Shu Bo, she is also showing interest in him and exploring that connection for a significant part of the story. So if dramas where the FL has no interest in the second lead are still considered love triangles, then it makes even less sense to say this one isn't.
The writers deliberately highlight this dynamic and present it to the audience as a romantic possibility. That's exactly why viewers who dislike love triangles would want to know about it beforehand. So saying there are "no love triangles" is misleading.
The biggest issue for me was the main couple. I just didn’t feel any chemistry between the male lead and female lead. They didn’t seem like a natural match, and it often felt like they were just acting rather than genuinely connecting. Their personalities felt very different, and I couldn’t really believe their relationship. Even the romantic scenes, especially the kissing scenes, felt awkward and forced.
The second couple was another part I struggled with. The second female lead, who played an actress in the drama, was a difficult character for me to like. She came across as weak, unstable, and unsure of what she actually wanted. She constantly doubted him, questioned the relationship, and kept wanting to divorce him, so I honestly didn’t understand why the male character continued to fight for their relationship. I felt like he deserved someone who trusted and appreciated him more. By the final few episodes, I also started to lose some interest. I still finished the drama, but there were a few scenes towards the end that I found myself skipping because I wasn’t as invested anymore.
Overall, I think the story itself was good and had a lot of potential. I just felt that some of the character relationships, especially the romantic ones, weren’t convincing enough for me, which took away from my enjoyment.