FreshKicks

ZQ has such deep abandonment issues that I think his only security would come from on being on HC and JJ's family registry. I'm the least expert but I think he can definitely do that if his mom marries HC, but could he also be legally adopted by HC (even though he's an adult)?

I think it's a spectrum. At one end are the people you describe and at the other there are the people who don't blame others for anything and only blame themselves -- and that includes taking responsibility for other people. It's a bit like ACOA (Adult Child of an Alcoholic) syndrome. Children of alcoholics often grow up to be very focused on making other people happy, and will feel responsible for things they shouldn't. Like, if their lover cheats on them, the first thing they'll wonder about is what they did to make them cheat. All the bad things that happen to them are somehow due to their own personal failure.

For me, empathy for Chen Ting is a hard sell. I'm afraid I do criticize her for becoming a mother and then leaving, and making her son feel guilty over something that was so beyond his brain development that he was literally incapable of grasping it. She traumatized him for life. Then she doubled down by never reaching out to him again, even after she had recovered and become sane enough to remarry and have another kid.

(And she tripled down by letting LX be the one to care for her as she recovered, when she was wealthy enough to hire a live-in caretaker.)

Hei Mei is another matter. I agree that she is a good mother. I suspect that what she did in giving up ZQ and disappearing has something to do with ZQ's father. We might learn that she was basically in hiding and wanted to keep ZQ safe, and once the pressure was finally off her she didn't know how to make things right.

The fact that she moved back to the same city as ZQ is, I believe, indicative of an instinct to reconcile. She just hasn't figured out how, and until she does she'll get defensive with anyone who sticks their nose in her business or, god forbid, judges her. She wants to do it on her own terms.

Translation question: in the latest episode I saw, JJ keeps reassuring LX that she "pities" him or "will pity" him.

Is that a mistranslation? Should the word be something like "empathize"?

I kept waiting for LX to react negatively to the idea of being pitied (like ZQ does), but he seemed rather pleased by it.

I'd like to watch this because of Ji Soo but the comments are making me hesitate lol

It’s funny because we all know the near-miss or interrupted kiss is a common thing in Asian dramas, and most of the time we just chuckle because we know that eventually the kiss will happen for real. But in Still 2gether? I’m not so sure. :)

I totally get your point, but if they take 'straight-acting' to the extent that they avoid touching in private too, that just seems weird to me. I'm sure "some" relationships go on that way (especially couples who've been together for many years) but not when it's two fit and handsome college-aged guys who in real life would be horned up 24x7.

I think they wanted to give Win another opportunity for a big emotional scene. That along with the Pocky kiss in Ep 2 make Still 2gether feel a bit like a Greatest Hits collection for fans.

More and more I'm thinking it is primarily intended for fan service.

It's like the first episode was used to do away with the complaints about the first season, which served the dual purpose of appeasing the nay-sayers while also reassuring fans that all was well and it was okay to still love the boys. After that the series could get around to its main goal which was to give the believers a weekly soft serving of Bright and Win.

These guys are really, really popular. Behind the scenes the Still 2gether crew might not give a rat's ass about any of its flaws. Bright and Win will come out of this with their fan base solidified, and that will clear the way for them to do other projects in the future.

I don't trust the rating either. It's too high. :)

Did I see that one of the products was actually named "Bright"?

Of course not. Hope springs eternal. :)

LOL that clip is hilarious even without subtitles.

Thank you. I also get the sense that we're hearing their real voices, but once in a while the ambience of the sound goes really quiet "behind" the voice, as though the speaker is in a studio.

In some of the Cdramas that I've watched the dubbing is pretty obvious, and I swear I'm hearing voices that I've heard being used for other actors in other series. :)

'My Huckleberry Friends' is a must :)

For those who are experts in Chinese dramas ... are you able to tell if any of the characters' voices are being dubbed such that the person we're hearing talk isn't the actor we see on screen?

In this show, though, you can be sure he will be happy at the end.

If you're a fan of Steven's [I sure am!] then you shouldn't miss out on his phenomenal work in this series. His performance here is one of the reasons I was disappointed when he started doing mainstream dramas like 'Skate Into Love'. They don't make him reach for his most nuanced acting skills. A series like this lets him really show his talent.

I know his character will be happy in the end, and because I also know he's one of the best actors of his generation he will make us believe it right down to the soul.

I love that image of her that comes up first during the opening credits. That joyful, smiling face.

I think it's possible that in addition to addressing the mistakes from the first season, one of the missions of this mini-series is to give the people more of what they liked about the first one.

In the first season, Sarawat kissing Tine by surprise during the Pocky game was the best kiss in the entire series, so this time around we got it again but with more flavor, so to speak.

Similarly, Win's acting for Tine's emotional breakdown in the first season won him lots of recognition, so I think they wanted to give him a chance to do that again here, but also with more flavor.

I think they're trolling us tbh. :)

For me this got less interesting as it went along. Toward the end when they trotted out the little girl and her dying mother again I started to skip entire scenes.

I realize I didn't give the series a very good chance, though, so I'm not going to give it a bad rating. In fact I think there are much worse dramas that have been awarded much more than the 7.5 that this one has right now, and that's ridiculous.

So I'm going to grade on a curve and give this one a 9 lol. I'll justify it by saying I'd enjoy seeing every single member of the main cast in another drama -- I just wouldn't want it to be a sequel to this one.