Ilonahaku

I thought that there were some implications that a future husband ideally should have a title/a position, but regardless of that, considering grandma's character and tendencies, I was really surprised that she didnt meddle more. although it is true that her character got also worse as the story progressed.

on one hand I feel it would be great to rewatch the whole show to see what I missed, on the other hand I dont want to go through the heartbreak again. >.<

I agree for 100%, if the beginning wasnt so good, I wouldnt be so devastated from what we got towards the end. It was really painful to watch LJL repeatedly asking for her verbal affirmation of love, but never getting it. To me it felt that she got better at expressing love to her sisters, but her affection towards him very often got stuck in "read between lines" mode. It was pity that RSB that was so happy on the swing, didnt make a comeback at the end, which was what I imagined for LJL. :(

what a pity that we will not get more screen time for LJL's story nor better treatment for him. I wishes there were at least fanfics that I could read to heal my broken heart, but that isnt possible either. T.T

Ahaha, you mentioned the point that I also wanted to bring out in my previous comment. The thing that real YBL not only met LJL mentor's daughter, but that she even made him connect with LJL at the right time. Seriously what was the chance that real YBL would meet the right person so quickly to let others know what happened? ^^"

I also liked that no matter what RSB and LJL never sabotaged each other's plans. You mentioned that RSB and LJL relied on each other, could you let me know which part of the story you had on mind? because to me revealing fake YBL's identity didnt feel like they would be really relying on each other. 🤔 More like coincidence of each other's investigations results supporting the presumption that real YBL wasnt in Rong's mansion since the "husband" competition.

I was nervous what the story would serve after the broken wedding ceremony, but I really didnt expect that building their relationship would go so downhill. I agree that most of the time he was just pinning after her, while she felt emotionally unavailable.
tbh, i had a lot of complaints, as I didnt enjoy the last third of the story much. Ofc I wanted to see some romance again/their relationship recovering, but I would rather they removed the romance completely, then to see LJL being put aside and not being even able to return to his investigator role. The last 10-12 episodes were hard to watch - I didnt like how RSB treated him and how LJL character was reduced/changed.

but if you could become a screenwriter, what kind of romance would you like to see in the second half of this story? :)

Hi, thank you for your reply. <3

1. that was also my initial intake after I finished watching it. The way how they showed/presented the events in the last third made me feel like that they not only sidelined ML, but also dumbed him down , and made FL into know-it-all/solve it all. May be this cdrama wasnt for me, as I also didnt like the way how she treated him in the last 11 eps, but it is hard to swallow this bitter pill, as I absolutely loved the first half of this drama. T.T
Yeah, I also read on twitter that they changed the script. what a pity, I really wanted to see them scheme and collaborate together. wouldnt they be almost unstoppable?

2. Agree, I also hoped that she would wait with her return, as she knew that LJL was especially vulnerable after his brother's death.
Ok, I somehow get it that she left the horse for him because she expected that LJL would change his mind shortly after their conversation. But didnt she intend to leave without letting him know at all?

you mentioned that she wanted to leave him from the very beginning. sorry for jumping somewhere else, but that was also why her grandma didnt meddle much when in the beginning people got to know that RSB and LJL are involved? I always found it so weird that no one was against it, if we dont count RSB's cousin. XD

My conclusion was that I dont understand the type of love that was represented there. There were moments in the first half that made me believe that the story would later attempt to show RSB trying to open to or rely on LJL. but once the Jiang case started, she stopped communicating with him properly or directly, and their love turned into the phase where ML is kept in the dark, and so often has to read FL' s mind. And if she showed physical affection, it just felt manipulative. :/ I wanted to say that I would accept it somehow, if LJL would understand her love language, but then I realized that communication is necessary no matter how well you know your partner. It was just the last nail in the coffin for me, when even in the last episode we have LJL asking her what she is doing, if she is leaving - clearly not understanding her intentions. Not to mention that she wanted to leave before by just leaving the hairpin that he gave her. She just avoids direct confrontation. And when LJL confronts her, he realizes that she fooled him/lied to him/played games with him... :/ didnt she own him to be honest before "saying goodbye"?
*sigh* I guess, I will just rewatch their earlier interactions which had completely different vibes.

Hi, thank you for your comment. :)
I understood that he was drugged, but I realized that I just didnt backtrack the full effect of Valley Lily to all the changes in his behaviour- I thought that the drug made him only emotional, therefore missing the point that it also made him unable to use his sharp mind. ^^"

Btw, wasnt LJL drugged only when he visited his older brother? I remember that he showed the signs after returning from his visits, but you mentioned that he was also under influence when he first saw RSB. So it wasnt due to fever? I also wondered if they put something into his room, but on the other side RSB or anyone else wasnt showing weird signs after meeting him in his room.

Hi dear, thank you so much for sharing your analysis, as it helped me to view the events in a different light and helped me to ease down my disappointment from the last third of the story. <3

Now I understand what you meant by ML being toned down - I wasnt sure if you were refering to his fierce nature or to his wit. then I realized that I didnt make a connection between his lost wit and the effect of Valley Lily, as I thought that him being drugged triggered only his emotional response, and not impacting his clever mind. (I admit, I really wanted to see capable LJL after he was sidelined during the Jiang case, so it was a heavy blow not seeing him to step into his sharp investigator person in the duke arc which was the last chance for it to happen.)

Thank you for your detailed explanation about the Jiang case, because that was a big pain point for me. I wasnt sure what would be triggered or follow after LJL left her at the altar (despite her understanding his motives), but her not telling him about her plans didnt give me the vibe that she would be punishing him, yet I was lost how to interpret that she was playing dumb in front of him or not sharing her thoughts. Your explanation that she wanted to protect him makes sense (although I dont know where I was supposed to see the explanation that she promised to give him), but as both leads were really smart and capable, I expected them to scheme together, or at least LJL to do his own scheming on the side and outsmart Jiang. it didnt help that shortly after that I read that this part of the script got changed, as some parts given to RSB were originally meant for LJL. :(

the duke arc. Oh, thank you for letting me know! I completely missed that he was imprisoned for a month. I thought it was not even 2 weeks, which was why I found it so weird that he regressed so much.

I know that they said that LJL hoped that his brother would give him at least slightly warm welcome, but that was another point that made me confused. I didnt understand why he thought that something like that would be possible. it was well known that only the strongest survive in the capital, and as he knew how bad his father was, why would he think that his older brother who never met him would be different? He saw how power struggles can be nasty, so I wonder why he would think that a blood relationship would make a change for his brother to 'welcome' him.
in any case, they handled the portrayal of their brotherhood very well, because I could emphasize with LJL's pain after his brother died. :)

or...was his longing for familial love also triggered by the drug?

once again, thank you so much for your detailed explanations, as they were super helpful.

100% agree and also the reason why I was so disappointed - the last third of the show really spoiled the story for me. :(

Hi, I did get that she manipulated the sister in law, but I didnt understand how she did it. Was it because the sister felt pulled towards her daughter which was actually her own child?

I second this. I felt the same - that the characters dont consider the margin when things could turn unexpected and not follow their plans at all.

But I found this quite re-occuring element in the script -e.g. LJL also didnt consider that things could go south, when he staged his fall at the beginning (which was super risky considering winter terrain), RSB believed that the confirmation about YBL's identity would be delivered before the wedding etc.

I feel the same, that the show was very good and intriguing at first, but it became too one-sided (only ML confessing his feelings, and FL becoming know-it-all/solve it all) and repetitive (things started to feel that they happen only because how it was written in the script). I really thought that we would get a scheming smart power couple with both supporting each other, so when I saw how ML was put aside and dumbed down in the last third, I felt really disappointed. Further, I would rather them to remove the romance part then to have this emotionally unavailable FL who doesnt share her plans/thoughts with the person who is linked to her as her love interest.

I also wouldnt mind the focus on Rong family drama so much if they alternated it with LJL's story :(

I already watched Glory, so nothing is a spoiler anymore.
Besides some good changes in her sisters, I cant recall any remarkable character development there. O.o (But I am sure I just didnt get it. ^^")

Hi, I saw some people mentioning good character development in this cdrama?
Can someone provide examples, please? Thank you

Hi, thank you for your comment. :) Can I have a few questions?

1] You mentioned that the ML being toned-down was a test of his character. Can you explain it a little bit more?
I ask because it bothered me how he was put on sidelines for the investigations in the last third of the story. I also couldnt understand well why in the duke arc he was suddenly so emotional while lacking his previous wits. To me it felt like too big change in his character.

2] And also one more question. Why did RSB leave the fastest horses for him? I didnt get why she was testing him again.

Hi, thank you so much for your comment, was really glad that I could read what was so special about this cdrama for you. <3
Indeed it is great to have a FL with high emotional and practical intelligence, it is just that for me her intrusions dont trigger any big emotional reaction (that I would be excited or blown away) - I am on ep 19 now.
I also love the friendship between generals :D
I am watching it on viki and unfortunately there is no option for changing the speed of watching (but skipping scenes is too disrupting for me).

Hi, thank you very much for your comment and explanation what you liked about this cdrama. I also love enemy to lovers trope, but here I felt that the tension was gone too quickly. Indeed, the supporting cast is amazing. :)

What was the logic/explanation gymnastics in the last 2 eps? T___T
Really struggled to understand what was happening. I guess I will have to spend another 2-3 hours going through comments to grasp the full meaning...

question for people who enjoyed this drama.
What made the story engaging for you or what pulled you in?

I am on ep 9, I like the character set up, enjoy the acting, fangirled during every hint of romance, but I am no longer really excited to watch it, as I miss seeing something exciting. Yet I would love to enjoy this cdrama...

I put memo to this drama, so if I watch it (expecting later in the year, when I will be probably back in slump), I will definitely let you know. ;)

I was super grateful that the story didnt lose me in the end and I was somehow able to comprehend the plot, but if I was asked to summarize it to someone right after watching it, I wouldnt be able to do so, as it got really complicated towards the end. ^^" Not to mention, that I wasnt also sure how to interpret the last scene at first.

tbh, I didnt watch anything else from new releases, because my watching pace is quite slow, but I am glad to hear that you also enjoyed Under the Moonlight :) rgd older hospital dramas, I have been watching Live Surgery Room with Binbin. :D

Yes, I finished watching it on Sunday. And you can bet that I spent rest of the day looking at content related to this drama and trying to process everything. I started watching it without no expectations, thinking that I would be dropping it after 2-3eps (as lately I just find many dramas too slow for my liking), but damn I was wrong. I loved it and I appreciated that it made me feel satisfied to certain extent with the ending which I would usually whine about.