haha same ! Indeed was refreshing with a spiteful ml, I found myself rooting for the bad guys towards the end…
Yes! To think that one would end up actually feeling sad for Sese, the sickeningly annoying second female lead that no one is supposed to like! ffs I felt sorry for her when he shouted at her that he had been exploiting her all along and that that was all she meant to him! fok u! Best part of the drama: when he slapped the fl and got bitchslapped back by her in return, I was rejoicing like a mad person making a little victory dance it was so satisfying to watch xD
Quality review! With both critique and appraisal where it's due, exactly how a review should be. You can't give this drama 10/10 and tell me it was flawless, cause sister, I could list you at least 10 flaws you missed because you were too busy fangirling over your favorite c-novel getting an adaptation.
Applause to you for sharing an unpopular opinion amidst the countless of uncritical 10/10 reviews, that takes guts - to see things for what they are and not what we wish them to be. I wanted to like this drama, I really did. But fact is, it lacked in both narrative and execution, especially when considering this was a high-budget production. I watched both the cut and uncut versions and still couldn't get passed the many plotholes and rushed character developments - which surprisingly nobody makes mention of. Lots of things didn't make sense, lots of the motives for the characters were left unanswered - the hell made Li Chengyin tick? What triggered him to begin with? The death of his bro? His aunt? His dear birth mother? Right, so that's not okay but deceiving and annihilating someone else's entire clan is justifiable because hey, you suffered and hey, you had your reasons and you have this grandiose love for them anyway, so you pass. That's the most laughable thing about this drama, never once was the male lead shown to realize his guilt and repent for the fact that he put the female lead through the exact same thing that was done to him, just multiplied by a factor of 10(!) And indeed, the drama got so painstakingly repetitive from the middle towards the end that I just wanted it to end already. We already knew what was gonna happen. Someone was bound to die (oh shit, the many kill-offs..did they kill off characters for entertainment purposes or were they just pressed for film time cause that was hilarious af). The actors were great, just a pity they didn't exploit their chemistry to the fullest and did such a poor work out of fleshing out the romance. I reckon one should have read the novel for a better understanding and maybe that's why everyone's so much more lenient when it comes to rating this drama - because they've already read the novel - but a good adaption should be able to stand on its own and tell a story to its audience without relying too much on its source material for backup. I didn't ever get that feeling with this drama, I knew right off the bat that I was watching an adaptation without even checking first. The premise was good and was what kept me watching, but the execution was sadly too sloppy for me to really say I enjoyed it.
Really the most pitiful FL of all dramas I've watched. And also the most spiteful ML. :D Many times had I imagined…
haha same ! Indeed was refreshing with a spiteful ml, I found myself rooting for the bad guys towards the end of the drama - this guy was so despicable he made the actual villains look like little angels!
Finally a comment making mention of the multiple plot holes. I reckon one should have read the novel instead, a lot of things were badly executed. Considering the high budget it is a bit of a pity, the drama lacked in the narrative. Lots of things didn't make sense. The main actors had amazing chemistry, yet the potential wasn't exploited well. Sad...
So the review above says that the uncut version gives the viewers a very different perspective of the Li Cheng Yin character. I beg to differ.
I started on the cut version by sheer mistake, realized it after 12 episodes in and immediately started watching the director's cut. As far as I understand, only the first two episodes and the last are different. Based on the first two episodes (yes, there were a boatload of scenes that I couldn't remember having seen in the cut version), I didn't get a better understanding of Li Cheng, his motives were already clear from the cut version but the uncut version didn't make me feel any more differently towards him. Rather, I started seeing Gu Jian in a different light. In the cut version, he seems like someone who realizes his feelings too late, someone who lacks a backbone, someone who's ultimately no different from Li Cheng in that he closes an eye to the betrayal of a loved one. His motives are driven by filial piety, albeit being split between obligation and his own feelings. He's in a constant battle with himself. This is not shown as clearly in the cut version - it's not shown at all. I'm not saying having watched the missing scenes makes either Gu Jian or Li Cheng any less flawed (hallelujah for flawed characters!) but I personally started seeing at least one character differently when I got more of a background to him, which the cut version sadly fails to offer.
I'm glad I had unknowingly started with the director's cut version because apparently this version helped more…
Can you people use effing spoiler tags??? It’s not that hard! I’m here trying to figure out which eps I should rewatch that I missed from the uncut version which I accidentally started on and here you are spoiling who dies and shit. Thank you a bunch.
Think I decided to not watch her dramas again after this one as well. She's really cute but it gets repetitive, she never goes outside her comfort zone that is the kind hearted fl with a bit of a quirky streak who gets reduced to mending the ml's emotional wounds by the end of the drama. I miss some diversity.
No dont be ridiculous, she doesnt look anywhere near 40, or old as the OP is implying. She looks exactly like someone in her 20s. She's just incredibly good at portraying more mature roles. There are actresses with kids who fail miserably at playing mother roles, I still can't get over how well Jung In Sun plays these kinds of roles without having kids of her own. She's a natural.
Anyone got an alternative link to download or stream the uncut version while muse finishes migrating? You can also send me a pm, would really appreciate it. I was just a few eps from finishing it and didn't saw the notice about the site moving.
I completely agree! The rest of the cast also helpI'd like to add. TBH I would have watched ANY drama with LDW…
@vr3 True! I realised as I was watching this that the chemistry they had in Goblin wasn't because of the chemistry between the actors themselves but because of the chemistry between the characters. Not saying they don't have chemistry here, but it feels flat compared to in Goblin, which just goes to show how important good character writing and script writing are for a drama to captivate its audience.
I started on the cut version by sheer mistake, realized it after 12 episodes in and immediately started watching the director's cut. As far as I understand, only the first two episodes and the last are different. Based on the first two episodes (yes, there were a boatload of scenes that I couldn't remember having seen in the cut version), I didn't get a better understanding of Li Cheng, his motives were already clear from the cut version but the uncut version didn't make me feel any more differently towards him. Rather, I started seeing Gu Jian in a different light. In the cut version, he seems like someone who realizes his feelings too late, someone who lacks a backbone, someone who's ultimately no different from Li Cheng in that he closes an eye to the betrayal of a loved one. His motives are driven by filial piety, albeit being split between obligation and his own feelings. He's in a constant battle with himself. This is not shown as clearly in the cut version - it's not shown at all. I'm not saying having watched the missing scenes makes either Gu Jian or Li Cheng any less flawed (hallelujah for flawed characters!) but I personally started seeing at least one character differently when I got more of a background to him, which the cut version sadly fails to offer.