how can u say F4M never knew he wanted when he's been wanting Chian for the longest but Chian kept letting him…
You are completely biased here.
- Sure, Bua background is more heavy. Yes, he clearly have issue because of it. And it make his behavior less worse ? Absolutely not. He did that on Chian for years. And was completely unhinged in the end. Lastly, he didn't cut contact with Chian, Chian did. He just accepted the consequence of his behavior.
- You downplay their friendship so freaking hard. Fou4mod was just saying that their friendship started this way & not it was the only reason they were friend.
I get it, you loved Baabin & Bua and everything is acceptable coming from them. Talking about "we don't have to justify everything they did either" is kind of ironic coming from you. Obviously, the ones that hurt them are "bad guys" that can't be redeemed. It's why I said you had double standard.
And just to be clear, I have nothing against Bua or Baabin. They aren't "bad guys" either. No one here was. That was my whole point.
I tell you what; my brain couldn't keep up with the plot twists. I honestly think the excellent acting from everyone…
Well, the actors are fantastic but the direction & writing are also top notch. Everything is captivating. The characters, the story, the acting, the OST & the camera work. I'm literally obsess with this. One of the best Drama I've seen.
how can u say F4M never knew he wanted when he's been wanting Chian for the longest but Chian kept letting him…
I see double standard here or selective memory:
- Bua: Yes, he just wanted Chian as a friend. But he also knew that he wanted more. He still wanted to keep him very close & got jealous when he started dating Fou4mod to the point of actively messing up their relationship. And do not forget how he tried to kiss him just to say "Nah, that doesn't work" & still hoped to stay as a friend with him AND even wanted him to stay single.
- Baabin: He somewhat stalk Fou4mod. To help him with his homework, he lied about where he live. He kept text message in a unhealthily way. Sure, it's cute in a vacuum BUT it's not normal behavior. And he basically did what Bua did to Chian, to Bua. He clearly rejected him BUT still did what he did in the bed scene. Why ? Because he liked the guy but wasn't ready to "break up" with Fou4mod.
- Chian: Yeah, he used him to make his crush jealous. But... He was clearly honest about it from the start. And as we see, Fou4mod still jumped in this pitfall. But in the process, Chian did catch feeling for Fou4mod. Making the whole thing messier. The one point where I do think he went to far is when it was obvious that Fou4mod have strong feeling for him but he still used him. All that being said, he did growth. He first leave Fou4mod - instead of using as a rebound - when he saw that it was pointless with Bua. He cut off Bua when he saw that this relationship was unhealthy for everyone. And went on full groveling mode in the end to make amend for his past mistake.
-Fou4mod: "He became Baabin's friend just to copy his homework" Just, no ? Where did you see that ? They were friends but Baabin wanted more and took that extra step. And for the whole "Using Baabin to make Chian jealous", he was completely unaware of Baabin feeling & all he did was just being a bit more extra with a friend - the only thing where he was a bit bitchy was he ditched him in the nail salon when Chian appeared. Not cool Bro. :P He didn't flirt or did he kiss him. He was even less extra than Bua with Chian, but you said you had no problem with that... Also, when he finally learn that Baabin have feeling for him, he did say he doesn't want him to "wait for him" if he find someone else. As for when he cried when Baabin started to hang out with Bua. Not the more mature thing he ever did - he is still a teenager - but it's easy to understand that it's hurtful when your own Beast friend hang out with the person that "ruined" your crush. And again, in the end, when he knew that their feeling was mutual, he give them his "blessing".
I wrote more than I anticipated. But all that is to say, they are all flawed in their own way but they aren't "bad peoples". Immature ? Sure, they are teenagers. Lost ? Again, they are teenagers. They all made mistakes but everyone here didn't had any bad intentions. You saw that with Baabin & Bua apparently but failed when it come to Chian. And you lost me even more with Fou4mod.
Well, it was 100 times better than I expected. Loved how it was filmed, loved the characters, loved the acting and even if messy stories aren't exactly my jam, it was really fitting & not too overboard. I will remember "Gelboys".
100% with you with Fou4mod & Chian but I'm still a bit somewhat surprised with Baabin & Bua. I did expect a "sad ending" for them: Bua being rejected by Baabin as he couldn't move on from Fou4mod. Still I'm happy it did end well for them nonetheless.
- The main lead are in the end the Emperor & Empress. I didn't see that coming tbh as they always show them as unambitious & wanted a peaceful life. So I don't know if it really fit in this story but as I was always kind of frustrated when main leads just drop all their responsibilities to live their best life when they were actually Emperor/Crown Prince & Empress/Crown Princess that I still enjoyed it here.
- Mr Zhen & Princess Fuqing happy ending. They made me panic with this jail scene. I just wish we actually saw their wedding but I don't want to be too greedy. :P
On another note:
- Like some people said, the blind trust of the former Emperor to his sister don't fit his character at all. And the fact, she was still "forgiven" (saying she died protecting the emperor & was granted a title of honor) when she literally killed a LOT of people just a minute ago like the sociopath she was is even more... frustrating. Same with the FL's Grandma & Uncle in a lesser extend. Even her Aunt was forgiven & had a "tragic" death like we should feel bad about her. Spoiler: No, I didn't. :P
- The Saintess plot was REALLY convenient. They just didn't give much background story behind it. And the whole "Let's become a spice merchant kingdom & we all be happy" was really lazy to stop a century-old conflict. Tbh, the whole Nanwu plot was really thin and they didn't give much love. Like Du'er dying like he was completely irrelevant as NO ONE said a word about him afterward. I don't know, they hired a handsome actor, he had a backstory with FL in her past life, they also made him all mysterious with his mask & secret underground organization. He was quite charismatic but overall he was so... unnecessary & underused. Kind of a bummer.
Overall, I still liked it but it wasn't a masterpiece. 8/10
When your partner have toxic family members, you don't want them to stick around. The mindset of "Family above all" is so mess up. Even more so when they are abuser or predator. Leave that Grandma & live your life, it would be the best ending.
I really hope she will stay this hateful woman to the end and make the lead leave her. I really hate when they flip a character & make all their previous behavior somehow forgiven & forgotten.
I'm a petty person. If you hurt me, I will hurt you back. I don't like when lead are just "too nice" with their abuser. And while IRL, you need to be tame about it sometime (because it's a double edge sword ngl), fiction are really great to have that serotonin rush when they have their karma back. :D
All the author's adaptated works all posses unique plots. Wdym she's assuming someone's identity to get revenge?!…
Yeah him being a widow with child is so odd that I still don't believe it ? Like, I expect anytime soon that they will reveal that she isn't his biological daughter & had a platonic relationship with his former wife. They always do that when ML is already with child & dead wife. :x
But I would like they didn't do that this time tbh, it's so unnecessary in my PoV.
When FL cured the blindness of the empress daughter ,emperor promised a wish he would do for her and FL said she…
Well, an Imperial Decree isn't something she could overtake with a simple "favor". He almost let his son die because he didn't want to betray his sister. Let alone for her Daughter-in-Law.
Well, another "great actor" that will burn in flame. They really like playing with fire. Like, "she was legal when they started dating" does sound like a convenient excuse to avoid legal pursuit. The fact even if it's right, as a public figure, it's still shady & could only hurt his image. What did he expect ? Of course everyone will trash him now regardless of the truth. :x
And I don't want to be that guy but the way that controversy was revealed make thing even more out of control. The girl unalive herself on his birthday. And it was the catalyst of this shitstorm. It just scream "I'm doing that because of HIM!". And just like that regardless of the truth, he will be guilty. I'm not saying he isn't - he is most likely - but even if he wasn't, it's over for him.
And all that could be avoided if he was just... a decent human being. Or a smart one at least. I can't believe he couldn't have dated a woman that wasn't "borderline minor". He is successful, rich, handsome & was loved by all beforehand. Anyway, Karma did bite him really hard. :O
Well, another "great actor" that will burn in flame. They really like playing with fire. Like, "she was legal when they started dating" does sound like a convenient excuse to avoid legal pursuit. The fact even if it's right, as a public figure, it's still shady & could only hurt his image. What did he expect ? Of course everyone will trash him now regardless of the truth. :x
And I don't want to be that guy but the way that controversy was revealed make thing even more out of control. The girl unalive herself on his birthday. And it was the catalyst of this shitstorm. It just scream "I'm doing that because of HIM!". And just like that regardless of the truth, he will be guilty. I'm not saying he isn't - he is most likely - but even if he wasn't, it's over for him.
And all that could be avoided if he was just... a decent human being. Or a smart one at least. I can't believe he couldn't have dated a woman that wasn't "borderline minor". He is successful, rich, handsome & was loved by all beforehand. Anyway, Karma did bite him really hard. :O
I can't hate on this drama even with the romanticizing of stalking because the premise had potential and the acting…
They didn't ? Sure, he stalk her. But nothing in this say it's fine to do that. Quite the opposite for that matter.
- ML's Best Friend said to FL she could report him if she wanted to. It clearly show that his behavior wasn't "normal" even in this circumstance. - She didn't "love" him because she was stalked by him. Nor did he get Brownie points by doing so. - The other "stalkerish side-story" with the man beating his ex was clearly show in the wrong light.
At some point, the morale police should just stop & just watch properly the drama before being upset with everything. And if it's a sensitive topic for you - It could be understandable as everyone have their stories & sensibilities - it just indicate a "you-problem". Not a flaw in the drama itself.
Sooo... I genuinely liked it. Loved the mystery. Loved the ML's Best Friend plot twist. I saw a lot of comment saying it isn't a romance but I strongly disagree. All the story & ML's behavior root from his feeling toward FL. We got a love confession at the peak of the story. Just based on that, it automatically qualified as a romance.
BUT it isn't like the mainstream Romance K-Drama. All the codes - and probably what most peoples like about them - is missing in this one. So I can understand... the disappointment ? They just wanted to narrate a Love Story in a completely different tone and they succeed in that - at being vastly different.
Apart from that, the OST was perfect. But I also did find some "flashback" annoying as they are quite a few minutes long. As the story is already slow paced, it even made the whole thing more sluggish.
Overall, it's a solid 8.5 for me. Mostly based on his originality & the plot. The storytelling could have been better but the overall quality of the production was really great.
Oh god, poor Bua. And Baabin being a savage. Final episode next week. Who will be end game with whom ? Personally, I still have a soft spot for ChianFou. Baabin is "too nice" (well, if not this episode). :P I think the BuaBaabin's ship have sinked but either way, Bua need therapy. He have so much issue with "being loved" that it wouldn't work with someone who isn't 100% focus on him.
Also, I hate feet. I REALLY disliked that scene. xD (I know, it's probably a me problem...)
And the piss thing ? Just, why ? >_< (... But this one was waaay too much, right ? :P)
- Sure, Bua background is more heavy. Yes, he clearly have issue because of it. And it make his behavior less worse ? Absolutely not. He did that on Chian for years. And was completely unhinged in the end. Lastly, he didn't cut contact with Chian, Chian did. He just accepted the consequence of his behavior.
- You downplay their friendship so freaking hard. Fou4mod was just saying that their friendship started this way & not it was the only reason they were friend.
I get it, you loved Baabin & Bua and everything is acceptable coming from them. Talking about "we don't have to justify everything they did either" is kind of ironic coming from you. Obviously, the ones that hurt them are "bad guys" that can't be redeemed. It's why I said you had double standard.
And just to be clear, I have nothing against Bua or Baabin. They aren't "bad guys" either. No one here was. That was my whole point.
- Bua: Yes, he just wanted Chian as a friend. But he also knew that he wanted more. He still wanted to keep him very close & got jealous when he started dating Fou4mod to the point of actively messing up their relationship. And do not forget how he tried to kiss him just to say "Nah, that doesn't work" & still hoped to stay as a friend with him AND even wanted him to stay single.
- Baabin: He somewhat stalk Fou4mod. To help him with his homework, he lied about where he live. He kept text message in a unhealthily way. Sure, it's cute in a vacuum BUT it's not normal behavior. And he basically did what Bua did to Chian, to Bua. He clearly rejected him BUT still did what he did in the bed scene. Why ? Because he liked the guy but wasn't ready to "break up" with Fou4mod.
- Chian: Yeah, he used him to make his crush jealous. But... He was clearly honest about it from the start. And as we see, Fou4mod still jumped in this pitfall. But in the process, Chian did catch feeling for Fou4mod. Making the whole thing messier. The one point where I do think he went to far is when it was obvious that Fou4mod have strong feeling for him but he still used him. All that being said, he did growth. He first leave Fou4mod - instead of using as a rebound - when he saw that it was pointless with Bua. He cut off Bua when he saw that this relationship was unhealthy for everyone. And went on full groveling mode in the end to make amend for his past mistake.
-Fou4mod: "He became Baabin's friend just to copy his homework" Just, no ? Where did you see that ? They were friends but Baabin wanted more and took that extra step. And for the whole "Using Baabin to make Chian jealous", he was completely unaware of Baabin feeling & all he did was just being a bit more extra with a friend - the only thing where he was a bit bitchy was he ditched him in the nail salon when Chian appeared. Not cool Bro. :P He didn't flirt or did he kiss him. He was even less extra than Bua with Chian, but you said you had no problem with that... Also, when he finally learn that Baabin have feeling for him, he did say he doesn't want him to "wait for him" if he find someone else. As for when he cried when Baabin started to hang out with Bua. Not the more mature thing he ever did - he is still a teenager - but it's easy to understand that it's hurtful when your own Beast friend hang out with the person that "ruined" your crush. And again, in the end, when he knew that their feeling was mutual, he give them his "blessing".
I wrote more than I anticipated. But all that is to say, they are all flawed in their own way but they aren't "bad peoples". Immature ? Sure, they are teenagers. Lost ? Again, they are teenagers. They all made mistakes but everyone here didn't had any bad intentions. You saw that with Baabin & Bua apparently but failed when it come to Chian. And you lost me even more with Fou4mod.
9.5/10
- The main lead are in the end the Emperor & Empress. I didn't see that coming tbh as they always show them as unambitious & wanted a peaceful life. So I don't know if it really fit in this story but as I was always kind of frustrated when main leads just drop all their responsibilities to live their best life when they were actually Emperor/Crown Prince & Empress/Crown Princess that I still enjoyed it here.
- Mr Zhen & Princess Fuqing happy ending. They made me panic with this jail scene. I just wish we actually saw their wedding but I don't want to be too greedy. :P
On another note:
- Like some people said, the blind trust of the former Emperor to his sister don't fit his character at all. And the fact, she was still "forgiven" (saying she died protecting the emperor & was granted a title of honor) when she literally killed a LOT of people just a minute ago like the sociopath she was is even more... frustrating. Same with the FL's Grandma & Uncle in a lesser extend. Even her Aunt was forgiven & had a "tragic" death like we should feel bad about her. Spoiler: No, I didn't. :P
- The Saintess plot was REALLY convenient. They just didn't give much background story behind it. And the whole "Let's become a spice merchant kingdom & we all be happy" was really lazy to stop a century-old conflict. Tbh, the whole Nanwu plot was really thin and they didn't give much love. Like Du'er dying like he was completely irrelevant as NO ONE said a word about him afterward. I don't know, they hired a handsome actor, he had a backstory with FL in her past life, they also made him all mysterious with his mask & secret underground organization. He was quite charismatic but overall he was so... unnecessary & underused. Kind of a bummer.
Overall, I still liked it but it wasn't a masterpiece. 8/10
I really hope she will stay this hateful woman to the end and make the lead leave her. I really hate when they flip a character & make all their previous behavior somehow forgiven & forgotten.
I'm a petty person. If you hurt me, I will hurt you back. I don't like when lead are just "too nice" with their abuser. And while IRL, you need to be tame about it sometime (because it's a double edge sword ngl), fiction are really great to have that serotonin rush when they have their karma back. :D
But I would like they didn't do that this time tbh, it's so unnecessary in my PoV.
And I don't want to be that guy but the way that controversy was revealed make thing even more out of control. The girl unalive herself on his birthday. And it was the catalyst of this shitstorm. It just scream "I'm doing that because of HIM!". And just like that regardless of the truth, he will be guilty. I'm not saying he isn't - he is most likely - but even if he wasn't, it's over for him.
And all that could be avoided if he was just... a decent human being. Or a smart one at least. I can't believe he couldn't have dated a woman that wasn't "borderline minor". He is successful, rich, handsome & was loved by all beforehand. Anyway, Karma did bite him really hard. :O
And I don't want to be that guy but the way that controversy was revealed make thing even more out of control. The girl unalive herself on his birthday. And it was the catalyst of this shitstorm. It just scream "I'm doing that because of HIM!". And just like that regardless of the truth, he will be guilty. I'm not saying he isn't - he is most likely - but even if he wasn't, it's over for him.
And all that could be avoided if he was just... a decent human being. Or a smart one at least. I can't believe he couldn't have dated a woman that wasn't "borderline minor". He is successful, rich, handsome & was loved by all beforehand. Anyway, Karma did bite him really hard. :O
- ML's Best Friend said to FL she could report him if she wanted to. It clearly show that his behavior wasn't "normal" even in this circumstance.
- She didn't "love" him because she was stalked by him. Nor did he get Brownie points by doing so.
- The other "stalkerish side-story" with the man beating his ex was clearly show in the wrong light.
At some point, the morale police should just stop & just watch properly the drama before being upset with everything. And if it's a sensitive topic for you - It could be understandable as everyone have their stories & sensibilities - it just indicate a "you-problem". Not a flaw in the drama itself.
BUT it isn't like the mainstream Romance K-Drama. All the codes - and probably what most peoples like about them - is missing in this one. So I can understand... the disappointment ? They just wanted to narrate a Love Story in a completely different tone and they succeed in that - at being vastly different.
Apart from that, the OST was perfect. But I also did find some "flashback" annoying as they are quite a few minutes long. As the story is already slow paced, it even made the whole thing more sluggish.
Overall, it's a solid 8.5 for me. Mostly based on his originality & the plot. The storytelling could have been better but the overall quality of the production was really great.
Also, I hate feet. I REALLY disliked that scene. xD (I know, it's probably a me problem...)
And the piss thing ? Just, why ? >_< (... But this one was waaay too much, right ? :P)