John Hart

I'm 9 episodes away from finishing this and can share a Pro-Tip for anyone who needs it:

1. This is a solid show but kind of like a 'summer movie', meaning it's light and airy. That's not bad. So see this, enjoy it for this strength --
2. -- and then watch IMPERFECT VICTIM that winter. It was created by the same people and repeats two of the actors and is superior to this.

Think of it as a TV double-feature.

Thanks. I was afraid this comment might go ignored.

Here's the interesting thing about China, though. The focus on careers in women driven stories is.. fascinating. It suggests it's not enough to be a young charming girl that gets the boy. No. In addition you must not only have a respectable career but be advancing too, for the good of everyone.

American films, on the other hand, have been criticized for their female characters... who only need their male characters to fall in love with them and nothing more. As long as she's 'pretty' and 'sexy' that's enough.

The following comment isn't aimed specifically at this drama but Chinese shows in general It is these wordy resume show synopsis' which are driving me CRAZY.

I don't wish to suggest that the way America does something is superior to the way the Chinese do it. I actually find both cultures fascinating and it's why I'm enjoying these Chinese TV shows.

But MAN ON MAN these shows need to do something Americans do: describe the show's premise in one or two lines.

"A young woman decides to become a dog trainer for the Fire Department... with the real goal of getting closer to the man she loves... who has completely forgotten her after a decade."

That's it! We don't need to know their resumes. Or any other elements of the story. If that summation doesn't draw people in, come up with a better version of this idea.

IKR?

In a surprising way this series simply makes me... happy. It's my Happy Place I go to 3 nights a week. The female leads, the male lead, the comical male supporting roles and the outdoor sets. And sorry if this is a spoiler but it shouldn't be: it's so amazing to see people in a romantic drama KISS.

I don't want to spoil. What I will say is that the journey is so well done and fascinating, the countless female actresses doing their career's best work -- the ending almost doesn't matter. But buy some Kleenex for the entire journey.

... although there's this delightful sort of WTF with the complete tonal shift of Episode 9. Hopefully it kinda goes away in Ep 10.

The atrocious 'Anglo' acting made me think of something strange. In the earlier days of American TV the Asian acting was just as bad. Could it be that the Chinese directors do not quite know a good Anglo actor from a bad one -- just as -- American directors may not know a good Asian actor from a bad one? Like neither has 'the ears' for it?

As of Ep 5 I'm hooked and impressed that this series doesn't bite off more than it can chew. So far, so good.

Just because your opinion of feminists annoy you doesn't mean the FL is annoying.

Thank you. And yes I like a happier ending too.

Hi Tae. You're right, you never said 'recommend' but, IMO, to spread the word of a new show makes it sound important, therefore it is a kind of recommendation.

In my American town a new location of a Mexican restaurant opened up. I shared simply this and people said, "What makes you think their food is so good?!?" True story.

And your English is fine. I don't expect an Asian site to be full of perfect English speakers.

My favorite Chinese Drama is also the hardest to recommend -- because it's really depressing MEAN GIRLS stuff. Still -- try giving the first 8 or so episodes of RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE. It's a WHO'S WHO of A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Chinese actresses.

This is where I was introduced to Xin Zhi Lei and all the rest. I've tried other dramas with these women but only Zhou Xun has offered as good product elsewhere.

Please please PLEASE try it and you'll see GREATNESS.

I don't recommend shows I haven't watched.

Whoa! My wife and I both missed that, and she wasn't dozing off. (When I doze off I rewind to where I remember, which was usually about a minute earlier.)

MLaL -- did Wang's 'clock' get turned off halfway thru this season or did they decide we no longer needed to see it. I presume we'd have something to see towards the last episodes but I didn't see the 'clock' again.

For those who've viewed this, there's a character with a very special 'clock' he always has access to. Towards the second half of the series we no longer see his 'clock'. Did it stop or did the story neglect to show us 'what time it was' towards the end?

He's third in line at the Box Office window

Thanks. I tell you everything else about the show is so perfect that it is very watchable. And the episodes since 20 have sped up in revelations. I guess it was classic middle sag. Still, your point about Asimov is noted.

Oh, by the way, something very funny you said about cut-outs. There is VR game in this story that our hero must visit to find clues. But in his real world, there's a police officer, and he has a young skinny cop assistant who (is absolutely beautiful) often shown in shadow.

The cop is played by an older actor. So old they may be hiding his age by keeping him typically in shadow. (No, seriously.) The effect is that his beautiful assistant is almost always in shadow as well, and my wife and I spent at least 6 episodes wondering if she wasn't actually real but a VR of a person that slipped out of the VR world.

So she wasn't made out of 'cardboard' but often we weren't sure if she was even there.

Extremely well made series but I have to say it's kinda dragging. The main focus of the show is 'reveals' instead of emotional bonds between characters. So it's "Now we'll reveal this" and "Now we'll reveal that" and -- at the 20th episode -- I just feel this thing is too long. It is just me?