LA_Drama Fan

Oh, there are a LOT of names I could give him, LOL. But, he is just like a vulture, swooping down on the remains of their relationship before they get cold. To her credit, she knows what is going on and isn't having any of it, until he dangles the interview opportunities for her. You noticed that although he didn't participate in the group interview, he was there watching her. Ewwww

done!

done!

OK, as requested I did add a discussion forum to store the review summaries.

Kat, that show actually has really good potential, it just needed some tweaks to perfect it. I submitted a review of it on that drama's page here. If they could have addressed the issues with it, it would have been a great series.

Oh I agree, I have no complaints. But it interested me, that this show would act as a warning that dishonesty in a relationship will corrode and eventually destroy it. What I wanted to convey was that in the 15 years since, her mind won the battle and she had the professional success she desired, but her heart was right all along - she has nothing to show for her life since her breakup with ShiYan (I was even thinking that she would have lost her child in some kind of accident, which would have preceded her divorce - a heavy handed way of showing how empty her personal life truly was). Now, as she's turning 40, she sees a slight chance at reclaiming her personal life with him...and same for him....How would they do that? I keep wondering how that could go. It's really easy to ask, as the leads are so understandable and human, it's almost irresistible for me to speculate on.

It depends on what you're looking for, I guess. This is a very different drama that is very slow-paced. The leads are really imperfect people that struggle with their emotions. It's not the cliche business-oriented romcom that many were expecting, and for that it got a lot of negative reviews.

What this is, is a very realistic story of two very intelligent professionals who accidentally fall in love, for the wrong reasons initially, and how they try to cope with the ensuing events. The characters can be very frustrating because, like real people, they are unpredictable and do stupid things (especially true for the FL). The series is long enough at 36 episodes to allow for a realistic depiction of an accidental love affair that grew faster than either party was ready for.

To me, it's addicting, because this is so true to life and the actors are magnificent in their portrayals of the characters in the novel. If you're patient and willing to invest the time, I HIGHLY recommend it. It will frustrate you at times, and you will end up yelling at the screen, but it's worth it.

If in doubt, read the novel (it's on-line) as the basics of the story are very close to it.

Hope this helps.

Ep 29

Just when I thought they would give us a brief break in the heart-wrenching scenes, and I could write a few paragraphs to wrap this up....they drop this gem on us. There is some significant deviation from the book beginning with her attempts to meet with him at his office back in Ep 28, so I can’t refer the novel for much clarification.

This whole episode revolves around one 11-minute scene at a Charity Dinner. And within that, the core is a 3 minute cut that is staged in front of a tree, of all things. So, let’s get started:

The episode has us wondering if ShiYan actually blocked her on WeChat or not. He acts thru the episode as being surprised that she has not reached out to him (that is what he tells his friends at least) but we know that her last message to him was not delivered. (In the book he DID block her). The episode picks up with his conversation with his niece who wants to know why he’s still in such a bad mood and she knows by now it has something to do with ShuYi. She tries to get him to take the initiative and explains things from a woman’s POV… and while he’s hearing her, he’s not listening. When she asks him what he thinks the most important thing in a relationship is, his answer is simply “honesty”, giving us insight to the hurt that ShuYi has inflicted on him, but he then rambles on about what makes successful couples, as if he’s distracted. When he stops, she finally asks him the fateful question: “Is ShuYi the one for you?” After fumbling for an answer for 10 seconds, he finally just tells her to go to bed.

The next morning, back at her office, Yuling is still trying to stick thorns in ShuYi by bragging about her non-existent interviews with Mr. Shi. And then depressingly, the buzzard Jackson Yi tosses ShuYi the catnip she craves: he’s set up an interview session with his expatriate friends for her this afternoon. Suddenly her dull eyes lift and we see the smiling, proficient journalist at the interview session in Jackson’s office that afternoon. Her article appears in the online magazine to rave reviews, and she credits the niece in the by-line too. This gives the niece the kick in the butt to realize that being a journalist like her idol is exactly the future she wants. By now, the timeline is a bit fuzzy, as we don’t know how many days have elapsed since this interview nor do we know how long it’s been since the breakup at the Aquarium on Lunar New Year +5.

Sensing he’s on a roll, the buzzard then invites her to a big charity dinner and she accepts since it’s a networking opportunity for her. However, it seems there has been something edited out, as the scene then abruptly cuts to the dinner being held at some kind of mansion. She arrives looking better than most of the actresses attending the Oscars, in an evening gown that must have cost a fortune (how did she pay for it? Only the niece would have been able to afford it) and her hair beautifully styled as well. When did all this happen???? I think these must have been the scenes left on the cutting-room floor.

Putting all that aside, buzzard offers his arm to escort her in, but she’s not having it and they walk in separately (yayy). Once inside she and ShiYan instantly spot each other, and the director does a magnificent job of soft focus on everyone else around them, so that all they see is each other (tunnel-vision, if you will). As the attendees gossip, his ex-gf (the real actress) approaches him to ask if they can reconcile and he turns her down. While this happens, buzzard yanks ShuYi and pulls her out of the ballroom to the outside patio (ShiYan seethes when he see this) and she begins drinking wine hard and fast. She gets buzzed pretty quickly and tells JY that she still has ShiYan in her heart and there is no place for him (double-yayyy). As they continue talking, she gets increasingly tipsy. And once again he pulls her away, this time from the mansion towards the grounds. ShiYan finally frees himself from the ex-gf and goes looking for her, only to find her….climbing a tree! For unknown reasons, buzzard is a few branches above her and she’s about 6 feet up in a saddle of the branches, tottering back and forth. ShiYan demands she come down, while buzzard tells her to avoid him and climb up to him (how stupid). At this point her liquid courage has kicked in and she tells ShiYan off and he coaxes her down by calling her “Little Fairy”, her favorite pet name. She falls into his arms (almost literally) and hugs him whispering in his ear that he’s a weirdo and that he has a cruel heart…and then she BITES his neck (followed with a quick kiss). Hickie ensured, he takes her away in a fireman carry (she’s too loaded for him to carry her on his back, but I’m shocked he didn’t do the princess carry again – it would have been a great F-U to the buzzard.). As he walks off, buzzard fires his last salvo at ShiYan, telling him if he “can’t give her what she wants he should stay away”, but Shi responds that he, no matter what, will make sure she always has what she wants.

Under the watchful eyes of the chauffeur, he gently places her in the back seat of the Rolls..but just before she passes out, she again tells him of how much she misses him and how sad she is that everyone is allowed to talk to him but her. At this point she embraces him and begins sobbing (this is really a tough scene to watch). He simply asks her “Did you ever have feelings for me?” but, as drama allows, she passes out in his arms before she can answer. He holds her and the Rolls pulls away from the Dinner. They drop her off at her house and he goes home, staring in the mirror at the hickie on his neck. Before he goes to bed it appears he re-adds her to his WeChat (so he DID block her?)

The next morning, she has no idea how she got home. Who put her in bed? ShiYan, for his part, makes sure to wear his turtle-neck sweater to cover the hickie when he dresses for work. Unfortunately, the buzzard is relentless, and sends her fruit gift baskets to the office which she decides to have distributed to the staff. Then, he follows up by sending her a skateboard to the office. (Go away, you punk!) She’s not having it but wants him to tell her who took her home, which he refuses, unless he sees her for a date (what a dirtbag!). In the meantime this infuriating news gets back to ShiYan via an ad-hoc intelligence network (KongNan to her boyfriend Mr. Chen), which is kind of funny, because for all he tries, ShiYan can’t avoid finding out what is going on at Finance Weekly. It’s also odd that he doesn’t ask Mr. Chen exactly HOW he knows what is going on there. While at Finance Weekly, Yuling is getting chewed out by the boss because her draft report on taking over the Yuanchang series is basically crap because ShiYan won’t meet with her…thus she’s not fooling anyone with a bunch of filler and speculation.

The episode finally ends with ShuYi and ShanShan dining at her place while ShiYan & GuanJi are at a bar…and Shi is drinking way too much – he’s upset about the whole situation especially considering that the skateboarding buzzard won’t let up. During this, Guan and Shan (the only couple with anything going on) call each other on the phone and Shi can’t help but hear Shan giving Guan a piece of her mind telling her how messed up ShuYi is but confirming that ShuYi isn’t interested in the buzzard. Since Shi is in listening distance on the phone, she unloads oh him too. (I still like ShanShan, despite her imperfect advice). The episode closes with ShiYan stalking off and Guan stopping him and asking his oldest friend “What are you thinking? I’ve never seen you like this!” A question Shi cannot answer and he simply holds his hand open and says “I don’t know”.

Does anyone know how this show is doing in the ratings in SK? Is it successful?

If you're a fan of DNA tests, be sure to check out "3 Bold Siblings"...I lost track after like 6 DNA tests.

The actress playing her mom excels at portraying annoying women, but this character is a new low. If she doesn't get the WTOD, it will be a travesty.

And KBS tends to reuse set props for a long time. I've seen sets decorated with things from series that aired several years ago.

Yes I do, but I don't see a topic to put them in. I'm really not sure what to call this topic? "The show doesn't suck and here's why"? ;-)

Is there a discussion area for it? I used to do that for "It's Beautiful Now" a couple of years ago, but they had a dedicated area to post those in.

I haven't done 'fan fiction' in decades but here's how I'd change the direction of the series:

Ep 29 would open with a time-skip, 15 years in the future. It's the day before ShuYi's 40th birthday. In the intervening years, she married Jackson Yi, had a child (5~10 y/o at this point) and recently divorced him after his company went bankrupt and she discovered that he too had been cheating on her. She is the editor (Ms. Tang's job) at FW; the niece (married to YuYou, childless) has Shu Yi's old job and manages the e-magazine which is the top priority for the firm. The printed version is only done quarterly at this point.
Upon his BIL's retirement a couple of years prior, ShiYan moved back to take over the Mingyu Group and folds Youngchang into that firm. He never married and still carries a hidden torch for her, keeping tabs on her career. He's aware of her birthday tomorrow.
And the only person who suspects his continued feelings for her is the niece because he's hidden away those feelings for years and busied himself back in his job.
That day (a Sunday), the Shi 's all gather at the Shi Family home for lunch and the niece mentions to her uncle that ShuYi's 40th birthday is tomorrow and FW is having a big party for her...wouldn't it be nice if he sent his regards????

There's the obvious problem of how to stage something 15 years from now, given technology changes, etc (flying cars are common? no more computers on desks, robots everywhere, etc) so you'd just have to give that a pass and pretend tech didn't advance. But the point of the series from then on, is how (and even CAN) they rekindle their feelings for each other, given what she's learned about life since...and can he be patient enough to give her the time to be the kind of person he needs her to be. While she's had a lot of professional success, her private life has suffered and inside, she's hurting. There's at least 5 episodes of stuff you can work with here, also following up on the lives of the other couples.
Just a thought...I also would have changed things up a bit with her life before, but that's another topic.

I find it interesting that BaiLu really humanized ShuYi's character as compared to the book, where I felt she was somewhat cold and more manipulative than we see here. Dylan also takes some of the edge off ShiYan, because in the book we don't really see the relatable side of him. I know he was criticized for his 'wooden' performance in this, but he's doing it by the numbers as dictated in the book.
I was going to skip a summary of 29, but they walloped us again,especially with the tree-climbing scene. So I guess I'll write a quick one on that this weekend. Have a good weekend!

I think they're kind of going to be in a rut for a few eps, so I might just combine the next few into one summary/review unless something extraordinary happens.

I find it interesting that I've read reviews that THIS is when the series takes off and becomes the romantic story that readers feel was promised. I couldn't disagree more. In fact, I kind of wish they ended the series here, because one thing we can all agree on (and has been hammered home in every C- or K- drama I've ever seen) is that trust and communication are key in a healthy relationship. Our two leads have NEITHER. He can't communicate and doesn't trust anyone for both professional and personal reasons, while she simply struggles to be honest with anyone in her life. How can they have trust with this kind of weight tied around their necks? By splitting them up, the series teaches this lesson to us - real relationships can't survive what they've been thru.

Look, I want a happy ending whenever possible in a series. But in this one, is it really realistic or satisfying? I would propose something different happen after this episode, but I'll hold off on that until we see how this all works out.

Ep 28
This episode deals with the continuing fallout from the break-up in 27.

It’s now official: With his niece’s mission as a plant to keep an eye on ShuYi no longer needed, ShiYun tells her to quit her job. Yet, ShuYi hasn’t figured this out yet and thinks that he’s pulling his niece away because he wants to isolate her from his family. She has yet to make the connection to his niece being an agent of her uncle.

The following morning, when he goes to the garage to drive to work, he can't face getting in the Rolls...it's HER car, now. And he just stares at it until he has the driver get the company car (minivan) and commutes to work in it.

And just when you think that things could have not gotten any worse, she once again lets us down. She goes to his office for a chance to see him and apologize personally, which he rebuffs by sending out his assistant to tell her that he won’t see her anymore and that the agreement between the companies is over. She’s crushed (again) and slowly leaves while “Passerby” plays softy in the background. Before getting on the elevator, she finally reaches out to him via WeChat and apologizes there – and he’s reading her texts as soon as she sends them. (Mind you, she’s essentially standing right outside his office door and he knows it). All goes well at first, and she even deletes her first text apologizing about their companies relationship (thank goodness she’s learned something?) she then sends two heartfelt messages apologizing for her behavior and we can see he’s touched and he glances at the door she’s standing outside of. But then, on the third text message comes Faux Pas #3 as she stupidly says she hopes this won’t affect the relationship between their two companies. At which point he slams down the phone. She sends one last message, simply expressing her sincerity in her sadness, that gets the dreaded red meatball with the exclamation point inside. Was the message not delivered because he blocked her? That is her belief and her grief again swells and her eyes tear up. In slow motion, she walks out of his waiting room and gets in the elevator to leave his company, probably for the last time it seems. She turns around and sees the closed doors of his office as the elevator doors slide closed. This was a really heavy scene and difficult to watch with any enjoyment.

The balance of this episode has them both lost in their emotions, as they continue to struggle with what has happened. She reaches out again, via email this time to try to convince him to continue the series of articles and that she will step aside and let her peers take over. This is because we learn the first installment of the series on his company was a hit at the magazine and her bosses have ordered it to continue full-speed-ahead. Her boss and co-workers are stunned at her lack of interest (she’s still in a daze from being blocked by him) and she eventually tells her boss she must back out and will hand off the project to the rest of the team. Her rival leaps at the chance to capitalize on ShuYi’s distress and she goes for the opportunity to take over ShuYi’s pet project with ShiYan. Satisfyingly for us, it’s a futile attempt as he has no interest in renewing the series with anyone from Financial Weekly.

And the skateboarding vulture Jackson Yi continues to try to snatch ShuYi away with more cheesy attempts to date her. Whatever, dude. Just go away.

Meanwhile, ShiYan, completely frustrated and struggling with the debris of his feelings for her, first reaches out of his assistant Mr. Chen to ask hypothetical questions on how to deal with an angry lover, but his questioning is confusing as to who the offending party is. His visit with Uncle Guan (who has figured out what's going on) brings him more unsolicited advice on how to handle a spat with ShuYi. Later on, at the end of the episode he listens to his niece again on what one should do with an angry woman. In the meantime, he seems lost and distracted at the worst possible time, as the 2 elders on his board have now gone around him and appealed to his father to have him replaced due to the fiasco with Le’an Tech and Shi’s desire to invest in Juhe Battery Tech.

The show ends with a heart-to-heart talk between ShuYi and YuYou. She confides that her relationship with Shi has collapsed and that he’s blocked her attempts to apologize. YuYou is incredulous at his reaction and has her explain exactly how she apologized. Finally, and thankfully, he chides her (diplomatically) by telling her she prioritized the business aspect of their relationship while ignoring his feelings, which she acknowledged: “I’m a terrible person”.

We finally see them on a riverwalk walking towards each other, lost in thought, virtually passing each other without even noticing, so deep is their grief at the death of their love.

Bear in mind that this is the same writer as YLAG.

Ep 27

Well, we knew it was coming, but that didn’t make it any easier to watch.

And I’ll be the first to admit that she got what she deserved for refusing to tell him the truth about many things. But still, it’s impossible to not feel sorry for her, even in the least, for what she is going through. And naturally, she realizes she has no one to blame but herself now, which makes it even worse for her (she can’t lash out at her ex-bf or his mistress this time).

And it’s interesting that she KNOWS that he is going to be angry when he finds out the truth (and let’s face it, she’s suspected this all along). How angry and forgiving is the question. So on the Fifth day of Chinese New Years, she has decided, once again, that THIS time she will tell him the truth about why she was initially attracted to him. After a restless, sleepless night she rises early to face the moment (literally) of truth, looking as enthusiastic as an inmate heading for death row. We know, though, that the cat is already out of the bag and he is just waiting to end the relationship….he’s finally had enough of the lies and wouldn’t believe anything she says at this point. His facts about their relationship as a whole may be a little confused, but he’s figured out at least WHY she came to him. And that’s enough.

The episode does a good job of building a sense of foreboding as events lead up to their scheduled meet at the aquarium at 10 in the morning. She senses something is not right when he is not on time. When she finally builds the nerve to call him to find out where he is, the tension continues after he finally picks up the phone and all she hears is 15 long seconds of dead air. His eventual terse response “ To come and act with you?” before hanging up on her is the thunderbolt she’s feared and she’s left to walk back to her parents in tears…while reliving past conversations about their relationship, all to the sounds of "Passerby" (if you haven't read the lyrics to this song, you should...it's perfect for this series and very very sad). And of course he is just around the corner, watching these events unfold for reasons that we can only speculate on. Why is he there? Wasn’t it enough to simply tell her on the way home? Or was he still waffling even at the last minute to go and see her in person? Or was he so cruel that he WANTED to see the pain his words would inflict?

Now let me stop here for just a minute. If we look back, she must have realized by now that since his niece was actually working for her, she must’ve been the source of the information getting back to him about the things that she was up to ( like the blind date with YuYou). So she knows by now that his niece was spying on her for him. Why this has not brought about any anger on her part perplexes me. Shi Yan’s behavior during this has been questionable at best. He has spied on her, eavesdropped on her, and been kind of creepy all under the guise of being an introvert who purports to have her best interests at heart. Cherry on top of this was the fact that he was only just around the corner while giving her the Coup deGrace to end their relationship. In my opinion, he is really getting off Scot-free.

OK, back to the summary….

Now that things have been completely destroyed, neither of them really know what to do. They stare at their phones in furtive attempts to see if there’s been some life in their chat group, but it is as cold and dead as their relationship is now. His niece’s mission as a spy having been accomplished, he begins to pull her out of Financial Weekly. His niece, however, still has no clue of the role that she has been playing and she also hasn’t yet figured out the extent of the relationship between her uncle and her boss. In other words, she doesn’t yet know that her uncle is “The Uncle”. I would assume that later on both the female lead and his niece will connect the dots to find out what has actually been happening. The fact that she was sent to Finance Weekly to get a “job” wasn’t a coincidence…will they figure that out?

Of course, circling the remains of the relationship, like some sort of hybrid of a skateboarder/buzzard, is Jackson Yi who senses the opportunity to snatch her away for himself. Her reaction to this shows her confusion as well, as she lies to him that her relationship with ShiYan is still strong. Yet she indulges her passion for her work, and accepts yet another interview with him. And as typical for her, she is fascinated by, and leaps at the opportunity to use Jackson as a means to write another series of articles, this time featuring ex-pats returning to China. So now she will use HIM to further her career and just-like-that we return to where she was in Episode 1: the opportunistic journalist using her connections, intelligence and looks, for professional gains.

Yes, other things occurred here, especially with ShanShan/GuanJi, but they pale by comparison (GuanJi’s open-hearted honesty about his past was in stark contrast to Shu Yi’s deceit. And their mutual boldness to try to reshape their relationship provides the counter-point to ShiYan and ShuYi).

The lasting image for me from Episode 27 is the 3 forlorn Musketeers at the horse farm, splendidly clad in their riding attire, being absolutely miserable thanks to the women in their lives.