After Night Wanderer got canned, this is my most anticipated modern romantic cdrama. PLEASE no tax evasion/cheating scandals until after it airs! It's my only reason to live!
It is definitely an unsatisfying “happy” ending. When a drama invents stupid reasons to keep the main characters apart, makes them act in frustrating and/or uncharacteristic ways and waits until the last 5 seconds to reunite them instead of giving them and the rest of the cast a proper sendoff, many viewers lose interest and can no longer enjoy the idea of them ending up together. Not all happy endings are good ones.
I'm on episode 6 now and the FL has absurdly weak ankles even for a cdrama heroine. She falls into the ML's arms at least twice per episode. This is concerning, not romantic!
This is not a very important question, but how old are the two main characters supposed to be here? I know Lin Zhixiao is a junior in university, but I'm not sure what age that translates to given that she's studying to be a professional musician, and she said Gu Wei is in his 30s, but that seemed like a harsh assessment, so...
The first episode was insanely fun. It went by in a flash. The directing, editing, plot, pacing, fight choreo, soundtrack--everything is well done. But what I liked the most was that there's more to both Do Bae-man and Cha Woo-in than meets the eye and the drama did a great job getting us interested in them without giving things away by setting up the psychological tension and conflict of interests between them and then suddenly pulling the rug from under our feet and showing us, in different ways, a bit of what lies behind their masks. I can't wait to see the game of cat and mouse between DBM and CWI as his suspicions about her grow.
I'm at episode 27 now and I'm hating Qiu Min's character development. She was always a flawed character, but I was hoping living through adversity would help her mature and become a stronger person. Instead, they decided to have her experience rape (a realistic choice, perhaps, but nevertheless I don't like that it happened to the one female character everyone disliked) and become a supervillain in response. Becoming a ruthless schemer and raping a guy is not the default female response to trauma!
And now she's become even more unlikeable and reverted to her whiny old self to beg Qiu Yan to save her from the consequences of her own actions. Yes, QM is infuriating, which gets ratings/clicks... but I wish they'd given her a positive character arc instead. Her rape as a catalyst for her spiral into delusional egotism in particular makes me uncomfortable.
On the other hand, I'm glad Qin Xuan found out about what she did to him and reacted with appropriate horror and disgust. She did to him the same thing that was done to her and I didn't want the drama to leave that unaddressed. Let's see if she repents/makes amends. If Qin Xuan randomly forgives he without addressing the fact she violated him, I'll be disappointed.
How could it be called a filler with so many great scenes? I am really confused 😁
I agree they still get to be themselves in private and I'm enjoying those scenes, but I'm glad we're done with it now. And yeah, the Royal Academy arc was super bleak.
I totally agree. Ever since the Qiu women went to the Royal Academy and Qiu Yan had to become an entertainer I've been having less fun watching this drama. The whole game of pretend between her and Liang Yi and the fact she has to act like his plaything and conceal her real personality, motives and intelligence is not cute to me but tedious and frustrating.
And objectively speaking it *is* filler since nothing major has happened plot-wise.
How could it be called a filler with so many great scenes? I am really confused 😁
I think the main couple's romance was more interesting when it was developing naturally and lost some steam when they were forced into pretending to be in a physical relationship in order to deceive onlookers. All the bedsharing tropes, nosy mother-in-law scenes and fake arguments feel childish and artificial compared to the honesty and emotional intimacy/private connection the leads had in earlier episodes.
The lantern scene was definitely filler too, and personally, I don't go ga-ga over the idea of a man staging some convoluted romantic "event" for a woman. As I said, their early relationship dynamic was more interesting.
Thankfully, we should be exiting the pointless fluff arc soon and will go back to the leads being free to be themselves and treat each other as equals (instead of QY role-playing as a sweet country bumpkin concubine, which is not her and feels demeaning) soon enough.
I don't understand the cribbing about lower rating for this drama. In my opinion, the current rating makes absolute…
Uh, well, in my opinion you're wrong. The plot is intricate, fast-paced and exciting and Lee Hye-ri has done her job. Compared to other recent fusion sageuks it's very well-executed. There's nothing mindblowing, but the conspiracy plot is exciting and the themes of good governance, just and unjust laws and worthy rulers are given a more nuanced treatment than usual, while the romance is natural and unencumbered by stupid love triangle drama and misunderstandings. The second leads are also interesting, with Lady Han being really charming and the crown prince facing a realistic moral dilemma. The surrounding cast of officials, smugglers, gisaengs, etc. is also well-developed. In most romantic kdramas there are at most 1-2 characters beyond the standard 4 leads who have distinct personalities and motivations that are compelling enough to make you root for or against them, but here there are several side characters I've become invested in.
Also, Ro-seo is a great female lead. She's actually a badass, not just someone we're told is a badass who loses her smarts and independence for the sake of the plot/so the ML can shine by comparison.
WHO’S CHIEF ROYAL SECRETARY’S SON? IS IT SIM HEON? IS IT YOUNG? IS IT BOTH OF THEM? I hate how this was shown…
We only see Sim Heon’s tattoo and the narrative implies he’s CRS’s son, but the preview a few episodes ago had CRS denying being the father of a son who was implied to be Nam Young and we haven’t seen those scenes yet. We’ve also seen CRS’s doomed love affair with Young’s mother told through flashbacks—so it’s possible Young and Heon are brothers.
Lady Han lowkey best character in the drama. Also:
WHO’S CHIEF ROYAL SECRETARY’S SON? IS IT SIM HEON? IS IT YOUNG? IS IT BOTH OF THEM? I hate how this was shown in the preview 3-4 episodes ago and hasn’t been addressed since.
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And now she's become even more unlikeable and reverted to her whiny old self to beg Qiu Yan to save her from the consequences of her own actions. Yes, QM is infuriating, which gets ratings/clicks... but I wish they'd given her a positive character arc instead. Her rape as a catalyst for her spiral into delusional egotism in particular makes me uncomfortable.
On the other hand, I'm glad Qin Xuan found out about what she did to him and reacted with appropriate horror and disgust. She did to him the same thing that was done to her and I didn't want the drama to leave that unaddressed. Let's see if she repents/makes amends. If Qin Xuan randomly forgives he without addressing the fact she violated him, I'll be disappointed.
And objectively speaking it *is* filler since nothing major has happened plot-wise.
The lantern scene was definitely filler too, and personally, I don't go ga-ga over the idea of a man staging some convoluted romantic "event" for a woman. As I said, their early relationship dynamic was more interesting.
Thankfully, we should be exiting the pointless fluff arc soon and will go back to the leads being free to be themselves and treat each other as equals (instead of QY role-playing as a sweet country bumpkin concubine, which is not her and feels demeaning) soon enough.
Also, Ro-seo is a great female lead. She's actually a badass, not just someone we're told is a badass who loses her smarts and independence for the sake of the plot/so the ML can shine by comparison.
In any case, acting is their job. They do have good chemistry, but, like. It’s their job to make it look convincing.
I think the directing in this drama is also pretty good; usually the director sets the tone for the actors.