Isinuyasha

Oh i don‘t doubt his love, i just think he goes about showing it in a weird/creepy way. Always wanting to know where she is, forcing himself into a reunion with her childhood friends, being rude to any men who show an interest in Yi Fan, reprimanding the male intern for his fake!drunk behaviour despite the fact that SY admits that he also pretended to be drunk in the past to get closer to Yifan. Possessive/dominant behaviour is something i usually avoid in a man, which might be my problem with the show. But it‘s fine, it might just not be for me.

I think I just have trouble with how, on the one hand he tries to act cold and aloof, but on the other hand he inserts himself into her life constantly and acts very jealous/possessive as soon as she interacts with other men. If he were the second lead ppl would probably call him overbearing/creepy, like the intern guy kinda. But maybe he gets better, I‘ll sleep on it, thanks for your perspective.

Oh i see thank you, i‘ll probably rather stop then. Yeah i could kinda like him as a big-brother-type in hidden love, but not really as a potential love interest. Thanks for the heads up!

I’m glad! The first half of the show basically focuses on the the parent‘s life whereas the focus of the second half is more on their children years later. The parents are still part of the story, theyre just older. The death part is in the last ep if i remember correctly but it‘s kinda shown as a ‚circle of life‘ moment and how life goes on :)

I‘m really struggling with this show, even though I really want to like it. I‘m up to episode 14 right now and don‘t know whether i should continue.

I was recommended this show bc I loved Hidden Love, but apart from the fact that it‘s by the same author and within the same universe I don‘t see the similarities. I loved Hidden Love bc the ML was a green flag. He was very considerate, good at communication (both were) and honest.

The main leads in this show are insufferable so far. I hate the trope of ‚toxic/asshole/redflag ML who is only nice in secret and only to the FL‘. The ML so far has been 90% asshole and only 10% nice/pining in either the flashbacks or the 5 seconds clips at the end. So he learns his childhood crush was SA‘d in her own flat and his first thought was ‘oh I (as a man) should secretly move into her new flat as her new roommate without telling her‘. Huh? The FL is apathetic and emotionless, which fits with her story and background but makes it hard to watch. Her apathy regarding everything, especially the ML, just kind of projected onto me and now I don‘t really care if they end up together or not.

Can someone tell me if it gets better? Will the ML stop acting like an arrogant asshole soon? I don‘t care if he likes her on the inside. I like men who are honest about their affection and don‘t go about it in ‚i don‘t want u to notice‘ ways. Does the FL ever get more lively and less of a doormat?

I don‘t know if it helps, but it‘s not really a sad death like ‚suddenly taken from life‘ The show follows the main leads life until they‘re very old and have been together for decades, so obviously it has to end with death. They’ve lived full lives though. It was not a very surprising death, just sad, bc life can be sad. But also very happy. I‘d still say the show is mainly wholesome but if you don‘t like any sadness at all then maybe it‘s not for you :)

Great revenge drama and lovely chemistry between the main leads! To me it's like a slightly more humorous/lighthearted fusion of Yanxi Palance, Nirvana in Fire and Story of Ming Lan.

I agree, I really couldn't understand the hype around SWDBS. As I mentioned in another comment, my favourite shows are those with strong/smart/mature FLs and I watched SWDBS bc someone told me "watch it, she's a really strong FL". I was so mad afterwards, bc they obviously didn't understand what I meant, bc being physically strong doesn't make a strong FL for me. Despite the main plot revolving around her being very strong, the show was mainly about her still being a cutesy-naive damsel in distress that was constantly being fought over by two extremly annoying and unlikable guys. I could not stand it.

Same! In the last 6-7 years I have gravitated heavily towards Cdramas bc there are so many FLs that I like/prefer. Apart from Joy of Life, Untamed, Mysterious Lotus Casebook and Nirvana in Fire, my absolute favourite shows are probably Yanxi Palace and Story of Ming Lan, mainly bc of the smart/strong/confident FLs. I love these shows so much. I'm currently also watching The Double bc I loved the actress in Yanxi Palace and so far I'm really enjoying it! I will probably check out some of your recs that I haven't seen yet!
I really wish there were more smart/confident FLs in korean romance dramas, I can't remember when the last time was that I've seen one. Usually I have a few actresses which tend to act as more "mature/smart" women like Gong Hy- Jin or Park Min-Young but it's not failsafe and often times they still act obtuse for the plot's sake.

I feel you, I'm also an adult with a career, so I find it very hard to resonate with cutesy style FLs who try to act younger/stupider than they are and who would do everything for a man. I guess I wish there were more romance dramas out there with confident, strong FLs who don't NEED a man but who will be straightforward about it if they DO want one. If we DO get a strong confident FL it's usually in a different genre, like mystery, action etc. Maybe South Korea thinks strong women and romance don't mix well, but personally I think it would appeal to a more mature audience.

Thanks for your understanding! I'm glad many people could enjoy it, nonetheless :)

I tried, I really tried to give this show a go because of the rating, but it's just not my cup of tea, I guess. I dropped it around episode 8/9. It's nicely shot and the overall idea is good, but personally I just cannot stand the female lead's character. At first, I thought she would be just my type of FL, in the beginning she was defiant, not impressed by idols etc. but then she turned into that cutesy-aegyo-style fangirl with the over-exaggerated childish behaviour which I cannot stand in adult actresses. It's why I also can't stand shows like "Strong Girl Do Bong Soon" either.
I also don't enjoy the trope where the FL kind of wedges herself into the ML's life with brute force, because if it were reversed, it would be borderline creepy/pushy.

I know I'm probably in the minority with this, as many people seem to enjoy this show. This show is probably great for people who enjoy shows like "Extraordinary You". Though I don't think the comparison to "Twinkling Watermelon" is accurate, at least not to me, bc I enjoyed TW a lot and it wasn't nearly as cringey as this. Just my personal opinion though, I hope no one takes offense at this, as there seem to be quite a few passionate commentors on here.

A solid wuxia drama. Perfect for people who like the vibe of shows like "Mysterious Lotus Casebook" or "Word of Honor" etc.. Some weak points for me were: The unecessary (and unfitting) romance. The couples seemed switched up, Chuhe's clever wit did not fit Qianluo's childish, brainless behaviour, thus he ended up having more chemistry with Ye Ruoyi or Wuxin. Luckily there wasn't a heavy focus on romance, so I mostly just skipped through those scenes. Speaking of Wuxin. It's a shame that, for such an interesting character, he didn't appear in all that many episodes. They kind of wasted his potential a bit and sometimes focused on way less interesting characters too much. The beginning of the show was strong, but it let off slightly near the end, as it dealt less with wuxia topics and more with the court/succession. Also, since we have met basically all the important ppl of this show's wuxia world by the end of the show, the wuxia world itself felt kinda small. Apart from all of that, it was a very enjoyable drama. The camaraderie was nice, the banter was cute and the sense of adventure (more so in the beginning) was great. It never got too boring and the ending was handled nicely, with most loose ends tied up. While it does not have a high re-watch value for me, it was still a very enjoyable watch in general.

I had to drop this drama about halfway because both leads are incredibly annoying characters to me. I dont enjoy mean/arrogant MLs, no matter their backstory. And while the FL is at least slightly more mature and less naive than most FLs, she is quite boring as a character. Their weird push-and-pull game bored me and I simply could not tune out the fact that they act like ppl I would not like to be around in real life. The story repeatedly tries to pull the „hes acting mean but look he had a reason for it, so now you should feel bad“ card and it grew old quickly. I wish I could enjoy it more, as it‘s so highly rated , but Li Xun and Zhu Yun just rubbed me the wrong way, I guess. Doesnt mean it‘s not a good drama, I just dont like their characters.

A very good wuxia-mystery drama and after long span of many disappointing shows (mostly romance-xianxia since those dominate the cdrama world right now), finally a cdrama that i really enjoyed from beginning to end. This show is great for you if you like historical wuxia, mystery cases, a smart ML, brotherly bonds, hidden identities and a big overarching conspiracy. This show is not for you if you like romance, naive leads, fast paced action plots or more fantastical xianxia-like elements. Best (non-modern) cdrama of the year 2023 for me.

Its explained in the show early on that when he was rescued the monk used a technique which had side effects and altered his appearance.

Also, one of my favourite scenes was when the FL told a woman who just got cheated on (and got angry at the other woman): "Don't get angry at the woman he cheated with, get angry at you partner that actually cheated on you" THANK YOU. It's such a pet peeve of mine, when women in these shows almost assault "the other woman", when it's actually their man that cheated. Hello? Who's really at fault here? She's not the one in a relationship.

I absolutely loved this show. First of all, I loved the female lead. I've been waiting so long for an actual mature and feminist FL, that knows what she wants. She is upfront about sex, sexism, the harsh position of women in Korea's society etc.
Still, it stays a lighthearted rom-com that's really fun to watch and binge. I love this "shorter" format that Netflix-shows have because, let's be real, Korea's 16-/20-episode-format is just not working for most shows anymore. Most plots just can't be stretched that long and 8 out of 10 regular-length-shows I watch get boring around the 12th episode mark. This 10 episode show was a quick watch, didn't get boring, didn't drag and was fun to the end. I wish more Korean shows would reduce their episode count, it also worked wonderfully for "Business Proposal".

While there is an Ex that's still interested in the ML, the ML is not interest in her anymore and it's not really a jealousy-indusing plot-devise, it's more an explanation for the ML's attitude towards women. The ML is very upfront about his feelings and tells the ex that it's over and he's not interested anymore. Hope that helps. I have a similar aversion to Love Triangles and this show didn't annoy me at all in that regard :)

I gave this a chance because the rating was so high, but can someone tell me if the FL gets less annoying/cringey anytime soon? I'm around episode 10 and it's unbearable, especially the forced cutesy voice. I know she's playing a naive character but it feels like I'm watching a love story between a grown man and a child and it feels so wrong that it's giving me goosebumps during all of their interactions. I sometimes feel like I'm watching "Ashes of Love" or "Love and Redemption" all over again, what is it with Cdramas and their fixation on childlike FLs :(
Should I continue or better drop it?