OK, Minhyuk may not be not the most well-adjusted ML out there (though I loved every trashy second of him being trash), but when he got mad at Yoojeong for pouring that other douche a drink and told her he couldn't allow her to lower herself like that. she should never ever kneel in front of another person again, and if someone had to kneel, he would do it for both of them, well, that was cool of him. Coming from such a proud person, the declaration that no matter the circumstances, he would gladly humiliate himself so that Yoojeong could keep her dignity was pretty romantic.
Still convinced this show would have been much better if the hot stoic widower who challenged Hae-ryung intellectually and supported her in meaningful ways, put his principles, his honour and her success above his own happiness, and had angsty reasons like his evil father and his dead wife to deny his feelings was the male lead and the airheaded prince who became infatuated with the first adult woman he met outside of the palace and pestered her for attention was the second male lead, but alas...
Sangeng wants to avenge his master so much but doesn't he know his master killed his father!!
I wish he knew too, and think he should have suspected it at least when he realised Captain Leng took him in after his dad, who’d never been close to Captain Leng, died in an incident they were both connected to. Sangeng knew Captain Leng was a man who understood moral responsibility and could distinguish good from evil, but also that he was capable of doing evil for selfish reasons. This alone should have tipped him off that Captain Leng was trying to compensate for wronging his father by being kind to him.
But the fact we wish Sangeng knew the truth doesn’t mean the writer made a bad decision by leaving him in the dark until the end. I think Sangeng’s ignorance is of vital importance to the identity he’s fashioned for himself as Captain Leng’s apprentice. I don’t know if he would be able to bear the knowledge that the man he loved and obeyed like a father killed his real father, to whom Sangeng owes absolute devotion. He allowed his father’s killer to usurp his father in his heart and remained ignorant of the truth while paying lip service to his father’s memory; this would crush him. Would he be able to go on living as the man Captain Leng made him, in the yamen, with Gui’er, etc., if he had to confront the truth? But what would he do otherwise?
We might wish to spare Sangeng this agonising dilemma, or we might wish to pacify his father’s restless spirit. But either way, this final unspoken/unspeakable secret serves to remind us that the truth can never be fully uncovered and the past can never be fully resolved. There’s always more pain and injustice buried beneath the surface, no matter how deep you dig for it. There’s no end to it once you start keeping track.
Last episode was kind of less impactful after strong 3 episodes. The mystery isn't resolved until then but somehow…
I think your confusion about the chronology of events will be resolved when you consider that Rikito WAS ALWAYS ANTISOCIAL. He didn't suddenly "become a hikikomori" after Chiho died the way people enter a monastery. He had always been a loner and he had always stayed in his room.
HOWEVER, as several of the people interviewed by Kaori and Mahiro said, for a brief period of time (i.e. while he was dating Chiho and while they were on a break) he tried to be more outgoing and hold down a proper job. He had a reason to try to be a "normal" member of society, namely to become a worthy partner for Chiho the big shot pianist.
This was an aberration from his usual routine. He did not go to university or find a full-time job after high school. He did not have friends. He only went out to feed the cats at the local shrine (and that's where he met Chiho).
He wasn't a hikikomori in the strict sense of never leaving his room, but he was a NEET, i.e. someone not in employment, education or training, and he did not fit in socially. When Sara told him that she wished Chiho would have seen him that day, she was just playing on his insecurities about living with his parents, being looked down on by his younger sister, not having a proper job (he was still a part-timer at the factory), etc. In Sara's eyes, Rikito was always a pathetic loser, and that's how she was saying he would have appeared to Chiho if she had seen his home life. It doesn't mean he had already become a hikikomori by the time of Chiho's death. For Sara, there was no difference between Rikito the complete and total recluse and the old Rikito; they were both the same person she despised and wanted to distance herself from.
In any case, this is all immaterial since Sara was, as usual, lying. We know/suspect that she deliberately caused Chiho's accident. If I remember correctly, she saw the light change right before she urged Chiho to cross the street. She told Rikito that she had just wanted to bring Chiho over, but that's probably because even while she was taunting him she lacked the courage to confess that she had killed his girlfriend.
Re. the exact chronology of events, even though we see Rikito looking at the newspaper article about Chiho's death on the day when he killed Sara, in reality several months or even a year must have passed between the two tragedies. The newspaper was shown for dramatic effect IMO.
Viki is saying episode 12 will be "available in 1 day," but it already aired in China. Are they delaying it for some reason, or can we expect it today?
I was rewatching episode 2 again and noticed the longer nail on his pinkie! You can see it very clearlybas he…
I was also thinking Captain Yi had to be involved somehow because of his beard, but the bearded man did tell the fortuneteller in episode 11 that the beard was fake when the fortuneteller asked him why he looked different. Presumably he's Magistrate Wei, whom the fortuneteller recognised as someone from the past in an earlier episode.
Remember also that when Gui'er visited Lin Siniang in the brothel, LSN told her that her fake facial hair was obvious, and fake facial hair has to be done differently from eyebrow makeup.
I think we might find out that LSN was involved in the bearded man's disguise.
Please recommend me more series from China like this. The only one that comes to mind is Strange Tales Of Tang…
Under the Microscope, The Wind Blows from Longxi, The Longest Day in Chang'an, Luoyang are all gritty, well-made historical dramas, but the last two have a bit more action. The Wind Blows from Longxi is a spy thriller, so there is an investigative element. Under the Microscope is the most like Ripe Town IMO, and they both take place in the Ming period.
The Long Night and A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower are good Chinese mystery thrillers that juggle multiple timelines and slowly reveal the truth about the past like Ripe Town, but they take place in the modern day.
Most other historical dramas people might recommend are too cartoony and psychologically shallow to compare IMO.
I always thought the murderer is in yamen... I just suspected other people. ... I still do. @PeachBlossomGoddess…
Right, thank you for clarifying the fishermen's identities! So scratch that...
Re. Magistrate Wei's reason for avoiding Mr Xue, that's surely what he told Judge Song and it makes sense, but I suspect he also just didn't want to be recognised.
I always thought the murderer is in yamen... I just suspected other people. ... I still do. @PeachBlossomGoddess…
I do think Magistrate Wei is someone from the past, and also the man who met with the fortuneteller in episode 11—the fortuneteller recognised him when they met briefly in an earlier episode—but I'm not sure he's Lu Buyou and I'm not sure he's the killer. Remember that the fortuneteller was certain that it would be safe to blackmail Magistrate Wei because he's not the kind of person who would go on a killing spree... also wasn't Magistrate Wei one of the two fishing buddies who were discussing the murders as if they were mere observers? Or was that Mr Xue?
I wonder if Magistrate Wei is not actually Turtle...? And then Lu Buyou would have to be Judge Song? But maybe I'm overthinking it.
There's also the fact Magistrate Wei avoided meeting Mr Xue face to face, but Judge Song didn't have any qualms about that, so I do think it's unlikely Judge Song has a past connection to Lu Manor, but I don't know how else to fit all the pieces together.
Sangeng, what are you doing! Why are you telling Mr Xue!
My guess right now is that Sangeng realised that Magistrate Wei planned to have his identity leaked (remember how he told the fortuneteller guy "let me tell you how to sell me out"), but I'm not sure to what purpose and whether Sangeng is actually trying to help Magistrate Wei or is brewing a counter-plot to get him and Mr Xue both.
Holy crap, Lu Zhi's heel turn in episode 10 was really abrupt. It makes sense that he would go along with Mr Zhong's plan to kill Lu Yuanbao because he felt he was in a kill-or-get-killed situation—which, by the way, I don't think he was? Based on what I remember, LYB told Mr Zhong to kill Lu Zhi ONLY IF Lu Zhi looked like he was plotting revenge or becoming insubordinate; it seems Mr Zhong exaggerated the truth and told Lu Zhi LYB had ordered his death to manipulate Lu Zhi into joining Mr Zhong's conspiracy—but now that LYB's blood relatives have appeared and Lu Zhi is presumably about to come up with the idea to set the manor on fire to get rid of them, his plan has strayed way too far from its original purpose of merely ensuring his survival.
Which, again, if he'd stopped and thought for a moment when Mr Zhong came to him in the countryside, Lu Zhi would have realised he didn't have to go back to the Lu residence and kill LYB. If Mr Zhong had truly approached him out of the goodness of his heart, he would have told Lu Zhi to run away and then reported back to LYB that Lu Zhi died (but his body couldn't be recovered for some reason). Lu Zhi should have been capable of thinking of this solution himself and wondering why Mr Zhong didn't suggest it.
But he was so anxious and overexcited in that moment that he went along with Mr Zhong's plan to return to the Lu residence, kill LYB and steal his wealth without a second thought. And from then on, as I said, every subsequent step on the path of conspiracy led him further astray: first when he used Mr Wang's crime to blackmail him instead of trying to bring him to justice, which he had once considered the right thing to do; then by threatening Dr Cheng's daughter and toying with her future prospects in order to convince Dr Cheng to become an accomplice to murder; and finally, as we will probably see in the next episode, by killing off LYB's innocent relatives after LYB dies (and Lu Zhi's safety is guaranteed) for no reason other than money.
Again, Lu Zhi's descent into villainy happened all in the span of a single episode. It's not like there weren't warning signs earlier—he was always a bit too scheming for his own good—and LYB's savage treatment of him in episode 9 would certainly be enough to jokerfy me, so I don't blame Lu Zhi for taking it badly, but I'm still shocked by how quickly he betrayed his principles. He was such a sensitive kid! He sincerely cared about justice and goodness! He vomited when he saw a dead fish after Mr Zhong kill the two guards in front of him! All that's out the window now.
Which, by the way, let's go back to the moment when things really started to go off the rails for Lu Zhi. It's when Mr Zhong killed those guards to shut them up. That's when Lu Zhi started keeping secrets from LYB, which LYB sensed (though I'm not sure why he only blamed Lu Zhi for that and not Mr Zhong, who must have been the one to report their deaths), and that's what led to LYB deciding to give Lu Zhi a warning, LYB taking offence to Lu Zhi's drunken babbling, the kowtowing, the exile, Mr Zhong coming to tell Lu Zhi LYB wanted him dead and ultimately the whole murder conspiracy.
When I look at the full chronology of Lu Zhi's downfall, my question is, did Mr Zhong have it all planned out from the start? Is it possible that he wanted Lu Zhi to join him against LYB, whom he was already planning to kill and rob, and that's why he put Lu Zhi in compromising situations that put him on a collision course with LYB?
It kinda feels like Mr Zhong is emerging as the evil mastermind here, the one person the killer should feel the most anger toward... but we have no idea where he is in the present day. Also my theory that Lu Zhi is the killer looks way more unlikely after this episode, unless Lu Zhi came to regret his actions later in life and is now going after his old accomplices one by one and plans to turn himself in/subject himself to punishment after he gets them all...?
they were not married, it s not a big deal, it s 21 st century
Dude, I don't give a shit, I want to watch this drama. Other people cheating is none of my business, nor should it be a reason to lose your job. Your private life is called private for a reason.
I've watched 4 episodes so far and in each one there's a different person behaving unbelievably rudely toward Himari. First some nosy woman who was trying to spy on her thought she was dead and the entire neighbourhood decided that was her fault for lying on the floor in her own house and wanted to take her to the police station (for what?!); then some annoying child smacked her phone out of her hand because she wasn't paying attention to him and she felt so guilty about it that she cried and apologised to him (for what?!); then her husband's ex showed up at her door, barged into her house without asking permission, and told her she was her husband's ex instead of introducing herself like a normal person, AND THEN the same woman showed up again the next day to tell her to get a divorce because the woman didn't like the NEET law and didn't like that her ex seemed to be happy with someone new... now her husband's kid brother has barricaded himself in her house, brought his annoying parents to her door and taken her hostage...?
It's insane that in every single episode there's someone walking all over Himari and treating her like absolute shit and she just takes it every time. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to get out of watching it happen over and over again. That Himari is so nice that she can win over even the worst people in the world? Dude, no one's even apologised to her and she keeps cooking and cleaning for other people! I don't think being likeable is working out for her so far!
I love how different episodes shine a spotlight on different characters. Earlier we had an episode about Judge…
That's certainly what it looks like re. Mr Zhong's relationship with Lu Zhi, but I wonder if there's not more going on in Mr Zhong's head. When he killed those guards I thought it might be not just to protect Lu Zhi but also to protect the wounded assassin. I'm wondering if Mr Zhong might not belong to some kind of martial arts sect or criminal organisation and have been sent to inflitrate LYB's household...
1 
But the fact we wish Sangeng knew the truth doesn’t mean the writer made a bad decision by leaving him in the dark until the end. I think Sangeng’s ignorance is of vital importance to the identity he’s fashioned for himself as Captain Leng’s apprentice. I don’t know if he would be able to bear the knowledge that the man he loved and obeyed like a father killed his real father, to whom Sangeng owes absolute devotion. He allowed his father’s killer to usurp his father in his heart and remained ignorant of the truth while paying lip service to his father’s memory; this would crush him. Would he be able to go on living as the man Captain Leng made him, in the yamen, with Gui’er, etc., if he had to confront the truth? But what would he do otherwise?
We might wish to spare Sangeng this agonising dilemma, or we might wish to pacify his father’s restless spirit. But either way, this final unspoken/unspeakable secret serves to remind us that the truth can never be fully uncovered and the past can never be fully resolved. There’s always more pain and injustice buried beneath the surface, no matter how deep you dig for it. There’s no end to it once you start keeping track.
HOWEVER, as several of the people interviewed by Kaori and Mahiro said, for a brief period of time (i.e. while he was dating Chiho and while they were on a break) he tried to be more outgoing and hold down a proper job. He had a reason to try to be a "normal" member of society, namely to become a worthy partner for Chiho the big shot pianist.
This was an aberration from his usual routine. He did not go to university or find a full-time job after high school. He did not have friends. He only went out to feed the cats at the local shrine (and that's where he met Chiho).
He wasn't a hikikomori in the strict sense of never leaving his room, but he was a NEET, i.e. someone not in employment, education or training, and he did not fit in socially. When Sara told him that she wished Chiho would have seen him that day, she was just playing on his insecurities about living with his parents, being looked down on by his younger sister, not having a proper job (he was still a part-timer at the factory), etc. In Sara's eyes, Rikito was always a pathetic loser, and that's how she was saying he would have appeared to Chiho if she had seen his home life. It doesn't mean he had already become a hikikomori by the time of Chiho's death. For Sara, there was no difference between Rikito the complete and total recluse and the old Rikito; they were both the same person she despised and wanted to distance herself from.
In any case, this is all immaterial since Sara was, as usual, lying. We know/suspect that she deliberately caused Chiho's accident. If I remember correctly, she saw the light change right before she urged Chiho to cross the street. She told Rikito that she had just wanted to bring Chiho over, but that's probably because even while she was taunting him she lacked the courage to confess that she had killed his girlfriend.
Re. the exact chronology of events, even though we see Rikito looking at the newspaper article about Chiho's death on the day when he killed Sara, in reality several months or even a year must have passed between the two tragedies. The newspaper was shown for dramatic effect IMO.
Remember also that when Gui'er visited Lin Siniang in the brothel, LSN told her that her fake facial hair was obvious, and fake facial hair has to be done differently from eyebrow makeup.
I think we might find out that LSN was involved in the bearded man's disguise.
The Long Night and A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower are good Chinese mystery thrillers that juggle multiple timelines and slowly reveal the truth about the past like Ripe Town, but they take place in the modern day.
Most other historical dramas people might recommend are too cartoony and psychologically shallow to compare IMO.
Re. Magistrate Wei's reason for avoiding Mr Xue, that's surely what he told Judge Song and it makes sense, but I suspect he also just didn't want to be recognised.
I wonder if Magistrate Wei is not actually Turtle...? And then Lu Buyou would have to be Judge Song? But maybe I'm overthinking it.
There's also the fact Magistrate Wei avoided meeting Mr Xue face to face, but Judge Song didn't have any qualms about that, so I do think it's unlikely Judge Song has a past connection to Lu Manor, but I don't know how else to fit all the pieces together.
My guess right now is that Sangeng realised that Magistrate Wei planned to have his identity leaked (remember how he told the fortuneteller guy "let me tell you how to sell me out"), but I'm not sure to what purpose and whether Sangeng is actually trying to help Magistrate Wei or is brewing a counter-plot to get him and Mr Xue both.
Which, again, if he'd stopped and thought for a moment when Mr Zhong came to him in the countryside, Lu Zhi would have realised he didn't have to go back to the Lu residence and kill LYB. If Mr Zhong had truly approached him out of the goodness of his heart, he would have told Lu Zhi to run away and then reported back to LYB that Lu Zhi died (but his body couldn't be recovered for some reason). Lu Zhi should have been capable of thinking of this solution himself and wondering why Mr Zhong didn't suggest it.
But he was so anxious and overexcited in that moment that he went along with Mr Zhong's plan to return to the Lu residence, kill LYB and steal his wealth without a second thought. And from then on, as I said, every subsequent step on the path of conspiracy led him further astray: first when he used Mr Wang's crime to blackmail him instead of trying to bring him to justice, which he had once considered the right thing to do; then by threatening Dr Cheng's daughter and toying with her future prospects in order to convince Dr Cheng to become an accomplice to murder; and finally, as we will probably see in the next episode, by killing off LYB's innocent relatives after LYB dies (and Lu Zhi's safety is guaranteed) for no reason other than money.
Again, Lu Zhi's descent into villainy happened all in the span of a single episode. It's not like there weren't warning signs earlier—he was always a bit too scheming for his own good—and LYB's savage treatment of him in episode 9 would certainly be enough to jokerfy me, so I don't blame Lu Zhi for taking it badly, but I'm still shocked by how quickly he betrayed his principles. He was such a sensitive kid! He sincerely cared about justice and goodness! He vomited when he saw a dead fish after Mr Zhong kill the two guards in front of him! All that's out the window now.
Which, by the way, let's go back to the moment when things really started to go off the rails for Lu Zhi. It's when Mr Zhong killed those guards to shut them up. That's when Lu Zhi started keeping secrets from LYB, which LYB sensed (though I'm not sure why he only blamed Lu Zhi for that and not Mr Zhong, who must have been the one to report their deaths), and that's what led to LYB deciding to give Lu Zhi a warning, LYB taking offence to Lu Zhi's drunken babbling, the kowtowing, the exile, Mr Zhong coming to tell Lu Zhi LYB wanted him dead and ultimately the whole murder conspiracy.
When I look at the full chronology of Lu Zhi's downfall, my question is, did Mr Zhong have it all planned out from the start? Is it possible that he wanted Lu Zhi to join him against LYB, whom he was already planning to kill and rob, and that's why he put Lu Zhi in compromising situations that put him on a collision course with LYB?
It kinda feels like Mr Zhong is emerging as the evil mastermind here, the one person the killer should feel the most anger toward... but we have no idea where he is in the present day. Also my theory that Lu Zhi is the killer looks way more unlikely after this episode, unless Lu Zhi came to regret his actions later in life and is now going after his old accomplices one by one and plans to turn himself in/subject himself to punishment after he gets them all...?
It's insane that in every single episode there's someone walking all over Himari and treating her like absolute shit and she just takes it every time. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to get out of watching it happen over and over again. That Himari is so nice that she can win over even the worst people in the world? Dude, no one's even apologised to her and she keeps cooking and cleaning for other people! I don't think being likeable is working out for her so far!