L13

This drama is getting subbed here:

https://subs.windflows.net/2022/05/20/nice-flight-masterpost/

This is the first romantic cdrama I've been able to finish in a while, mostly because it moves along quickly and doesn't irritate the viewer with unnecessary love triangles (there is one, but it's resolved quickly and the third-wheel is very cool about it), misunderstandings, late-stage noble idiocy, etc. And both leads are nice. While Zeng Li comes across as a typical cdrama heroine--childish, clumsy, cutesy, etc.--she's not self-absorbed and 'nice by default,' the way FLs sometimes garner our sympathy simply because they're the character we're supposed to identify with when they are in fact objectively selfish and lack common sense. No, Zeng Li is genuinely nice, so I was able to tolerate her occasional annoying traits. Similarly, Ai Jing Chu appears to be the typical cdrama ML in that he's cold, harsh, emotionally unintelligent, brilliant at his job, uninterested in women, etc., but he quickly softens after the first episode and becomes more human. I think the fact he starts liking Zeng Li very quickly helps.

So yeah, by cdrama standards this is an inoffensive watch, which sounds like faint praise but is actually a genuine endorsement. Most cdramas irritate me with how much they infantilise their FLs, how weak and indecisive they make them, how they ruin relationships and characters with stupid misunderstandings, etc., but while Sweet Teeth did some of that stuff, it was very mild and easy to swallow.

That said, the final episode was so corny. All the dragged out confession speeches, slow-motion replays, the abortion fakeout, the early return fakeout, the romance novel reenactment, etc. It wasn't even sweet in my eyes, just too much. They could have filled that time with some scenes about Zeng Li and Ai Jing Chu's families and given us more of the main couple's reunion. The final montage was nice, though.

I really liked Deng Hao Ran's relationships with both Zeng Li and Ma Yi Yi.

Zhao Jinmai and Bai Yufan are such a godly cast.

I'm on episode 5 and Wen You is unbearable. He's only met Qinghong like 3 times and he's treating her like she's his possession... someone please tell me when he's going to be out of the picture. Lin Fang actually shows a lot more respect for her as a person.

Overuse of English loan words that have perfectly functional Korean equivalents is a class marker/tic of characters who are obsessed with prestige and status in many Korean dramas and movies, including Parasite. I'm guessing company-wide adoption of English names is meant to signal a similar obsession with Western fashions among highly educated urbanites in the startup industry.

Addiction manifests differently in different people. Where I'm from (Eastern Europe) it's very common for older men to chill on a bench all day/night long, drink beer after beer and stare at nothing actually. And they've been doing that for years and decades, without their bodies "breaking down."

Working-class men have been doing manual labor and drinking heavily for centuries. It's not healthy, but it's more socially acceptable in certain places than others.

I thought Mr Gu actually displayed many behaviors I recognized from life.

Anyway, not everyone with addiction issues becomes a "wreck" or "causes problems" for other people. That sounds like your personal experience, but again, addiction comes in many forms. The phrase "high-functioning alcoholic" is problematic, but it does get at the idea that some people manage their drinking habits in less disruptive ways than others.

Uh, you watch dramas to learn factoids about your personality type? That's a novel approach. Maybe try to step outside of yourself and focus on the characters and their stories next time, instead of expecting the drama to be about you.

I'm on episode 4 and it's so funny how Chang-hee does everything he complains about other people doing.

Actually, there's a lot of subtle, deadpan comedy in the drama.

I'm on episode 3 now and I gotta ask: why is this judge some kind of action hero? Judging is an office job. You mostly read documents, talk to people and write briefs and opinions. There's no need to infiltrate smuggling rings or use guns or whatever.

It's a seriously weird choice to make the protagonist a judge instead of a police officer or investigator of some sort.

Also why is a criminal's lawyer getting access to the inner workings of an ongoing case that the prosecution has no idea about? Why are they sending an untrained civilian on a dangerous undercover assignment and then not doing anything when his life is threatened? There are so many glaring issues with realism that it's hard to suspend disbelief.

This was way, WAY too long and there were a few very aggravating secondary characters/subplots, but I liked the real estate office workers and their stories and I loved the two protagonists and their relationship. Fang Si Jin is such a realistic, three-dimensional “strong female character" instead of someone just written to appear that way. She carries her own umbrella and fixes her worn-out shoes after work, like a real-life person and not a helpless damsel who exists as a prop for the male protagonist; it’s sad so say, but it’s so rare to see such a lifelike female character in a cdrama. On the other hand, Xu Wen Chang is wise and kind and playful and also just really attractive, and his approach to work was a delight. They both have their own stories and old hurts too, and they support each other really admirably.

That said, the drama really was too long and I skipped whole episodes at times, especially around [SPOILER ALERT] the stupid baby trap arc.

If the drama had been shorter, it would have been much stronger IMO.

Also, this is a minor grievance, but both main characters were handing out wads of cash like it was nothing throughout the drama and it made me feel like my grip on reality was slipping. XWC gave so many people thousands of dollars (in yuan obviously) on multiple occasions, like the time he wired Uncle Xie the equivalent of $15K on the spot or the time he bought cakes for the company at his expense, and FSJ casually handed her mother $30K in the final episodes after giving her all her money for years. Like, those are huge sums in any country, let alone China, where incomes are not as high as in the US or Germany, and yet XWC and FSJ seemingly never ran out of cash. At the same time, they were supposedly not rich enough to buy a house or afford luxury goods. I was just so confused by their finances.

That’s what I said! Thanks for confirming.

Abruptly paused today's episode and tabbed out when I realised the drama has become a fantasy version of The Bachelor, with every character involved or about to be involved in multiple love triangles and a bunch of stereotypically annoying female characters lining up to trick Jang Uk into marriage.

The plot was moving quite slowly up until now, but at least the filler was fun. Today's episode was not fun.

Yay, thank you! That's very helpful.

She's been cast in a romantic thriller about a female vigilante killer and the detective who's trying to catch her:

https://twitter.com/kdramacasting/status/1547819835282796546

Sounds like a cool role and I look forward to seeing her pull it off. She has the intensity and charisma to make the audience sympathise with such a character. I wonder who the ML will be. I think someone like Kim Nam-gil would complement her nicely (and I don't think they've appeared in a drama together before).

The first episode was really fun. There's a lot of tension/potential conflicts between the different characters and the drama doesn't do the typical cdrama trick of pretending all law enforcement agents are completely pure of heart, which makes for a more interesting story.

I suppose Youku's official subs are the only subs we can expect? I was hoping to get more than one episode today, but I'll have to be patient.

Behind-the-scenes video, posters and photos from wrap-up:

https://twitter.com/dramapotatoe/status/1547766453171998721?s=21&t=JuZRsGeN9WBHgnX1XBnABA

https://twitter.com/dramapotatoe/status/1547786330972622850?s=21&t=JuZRsGeN9WBHgnX1XBnABA

https://twitter.com/dramapotatoe/status/1547790672702238731?s=21&t=JuZRsGeN9WBHgnX1XBnABA

They just finished filming…

Well, a lot of things that aren't real affect reality. State censorship is about politics, politics is about ideas, and ideas can be conveyed through fiction as well as non-fiction.

This looks so great. The trailer promises a dark, suspenseful historical drama in the vein of The Longest Day in Chang'an and The Wind Blows from Longxi.

When is it supposed to come out?

That was the CEO of Hanbada's rival firm, though, not Ms Han.