L13

Yes, that's the point. It's a psychological drama that's supposed to make you hate everyone around Jeongwoo, not a go-go-go whodunit.

Forensic analysts usually draw up a list of people who have handled the evidence in question and know to exclude their footprints/fingerprints/traces. In this case, it's true Jeongwoo is assumed to be the murderer, so they would be looking for his DNA or fingerprints anyway, but there's a massive difference between a fingerprint from yesterday and a fingerprint from 11 years ago (if one can even be lifted at that point). There's no way they'd use a fingerprint that's clearly brand new to prove he touched her name tag 11 years ago. Even if fingerprints are junk science (and they are to a large extent), that would be a clear case of malpractice and easily dismissed in court.

I like that almost everyone in this drama except for the protagonist is a piece of shit in one way or another. (Even Seol pisses me off with how pushy and insensitive she can be toward Suoh.) It's very realistic.

I do like Detective Noh, though, even though he's an asshole. He's self-aware about it to an extent, and doesn't let it dull his investigative instincts. I kinda like Seol as well, and feel bad for Suoh. Everyone else can get in the sea, including Jeongwoo's mother, who was too busy kowtowing to public opinion and acting fragile and sanctimonious to notice how the whole town got together to ruin her child's life right under her nose. Oh, look at me, I'll endure the victims' anger in my son's stead because I'm such a classy person! I'm a martyr! People from good families should handle even a total fall from grace with grace! Fuck off, lady! Where were you when they beat a false confession out of Jeongwoo and stitched him up with planted evidence and no bodies? You were hiding at home pretending you didn't know him! She doesn't deserve the feel-good redemption speedrun I'm sure she'll get after she wakes up in the final act.

Boyeong's father seems the most detestable so far, but I know it's still early days and we haven't seen most characters at their worst yet. Still, the fact he was the world's most useless father while she was alive and even abused her physically but still has the nerve to act out and expect everyone to accommodate his violent impulses to the point of excusing assault and attempted murder truly repulses me. In a way, Boyeong's death was a blessing for him because it gave him license to behave like an animal without being judged for it.

It was there to piss me off with Ziyu’s delusional nonsense. The fact he thought for one second she was interested in giving up her revenge and her way of life to be sealed inside a palace and manage his concubines was insane.

Uh, no, that's not going to happen. Why, you may ask? Because I've read the novel.

He's a "prince of a different name," i.e. a prince who is not part of the imperial lineage, i.e. a very high-ranking noble but not someone who's related to the emperor or in the imperial line of succession.

Isn’t it obvious to everyone Tokai and Amagi are the same person? What am I missing?

I've watched this exact same drama 10 times and I'll keep watching it as long as they keep making new versions of it...

He really hasn't done enough to merit holding a grudge for a long time. Once she realises his feelings for her are genuine despite the deceit, she'll forgive him. Obviously.

I really don’t think phrenology is the right science to explain this.

I wasn't trying to refute your point. I thought I was clarifying it.

I mean, to be more precise, she said all that to compare CXZ's unconditional trust in her to Ziyu's scheming, which effectively pushed her off Mount Yang. Although Ziyu wasn't the one who ordered her assassination, LMT accuses him of going along with Yun'er's plan to stage a compromising scene with Ziyu and trigger LMT's jealousy because LMT kept disagreeing with his faction within the rebel group. He did love her, but he didn't want her to be pushing back against him in the political arena, so he engineered her exit from Mount Yang while letting her believe it was her own idea, with the foolish intention to reconcile with her after ascending to the throne and make her his empress (or more realistically, his beloved consort, since she wasn't considered empress material).

She figured all of that out after she regained her memories of her bandit days and was disgusted with Ziyu's manipulation.

Of course, the fact she didn't remember her time with CXZ in the novel made that whole speech kinda stupid because, let's face it, CXZ is just as much of a manipulator as Ziyu if not more! The real difference is that he loves LMT unconditionally, whereas Ziyu ultimately puts himself first while lying to himself about it, which only makes him seem more pathetic.

It's called "no excessive plastic surgery."

I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, but I have to say almost every change they've made to the plot is an improvement. All the plot points I found frustrating or unworthy of the characters in the novel are done better here. Great drama adaptation so far!

Can we stop overusing the word trope please? One person liking the other first is not a trope. There’s also no evidence that Seunghyo likes Seokryu yet, and no reason to think they won’t develop feelings concurrently, which is actually normal and happens in 80% of the shows people try to categorize by dumbass criteria like ~who fell first~.

The people who found Seokryu's mother to be too much are definitely not strong enough for cdramas lol. She barely rates a 2/10 on my cdrama-adjusted scale for annoying maternal behaviour so far.

I think the mom's reaction was clearly one of shock and glee. What grabbed my attention was Seunghyo's stiff expression when he congratulated Seokryu on her marriage. I think that was a bigger giveaway.

Lomon did pretty well with the comedic scenes in Branding in Seongsu and Kim Hyeyoon would be wise to stage a departure from the "sunny girl-next-door" roles she's been getting before they get stale, so this is an exciting pairing for me based on the cast alone... but the premise sounds very generic. I hope the drama ends up better than it sounds.

I'm assuming the drama adaptation won't spend 40% of the time sexualizing an 11-year-old like the original novel...?

Some dramas introduce the protagonist at the end of episode 1 or in episode 2. That's perfectly normal and not a sign of exploitation or false advertising. The assumption is that you're watching the show for the story and not just to stare at one person's face.