Honestly, they didn’t resolve anything at all. They did what they always do: they got back together without actually addressing the problems surrounding their separation or clearing things up about the way they communicate.
They simply swept everything under the rug. Their relationship is a ticking time bomb: everything they refuse to confront eventually explodes between them because they never work on the real issues at the heart of their relationship.
Despite the happy ending, this drama leaves me with a very bitter, unfinished feeling. Their chemistry and visuals were what saved this drama. The beginning was so promising, but unfortunately, the rest didn’t live up to its potential.
For me, the best ending would have been a definitive separation, because they are incapable of growing and maturing together in a healthy and positive way.
Yep. I went through something similar. But instead of cruel remarks it was those passive aggressive ones that…
Congratulations on having the courage to leave that relationship for your own well-being. ❤️🩹 You showed so much strength. I sincerely hope you’ve been able to heal from that relationship and that you’re now enjoying your life to the fullest. 🥹❤️
I honestly watch this because of how beautiful Jing Boran and Sun Qian look together. I just want them on my screen...as…
It was really obvious that he loved her, but yeah, it does kind of ruin their friendship. I was already prepared for that. I didn’t know there were originally 32 episodes. It must be because of censorship I guess. 😭
I honestly watch this because of how beautiful Jing Boran and Sun Qian look together. I just want them on my screen...as…
I’m part of this club! Their chemistry is what keeps me watching until the very end. I really like Sun Qian and Jing Bo Ran, and I’ve watched quite a few of their projects. But honestly, without them, the story has way too many gaps, and you can really feel that certain things are missing. The first ten episodes were excellent, but then the story started going in all sorts of directions. Even so, I still really like the drama.
The Early Spring is very close to reality, perhaps even a little too close. Normalizing certain behaviors and constantly debating in order to justify one character or the other is so exhausting in a modern romance. In real life, we all dream of a healthy relationship, with plenty of communication and good emotional regulation, so that we don’t end up with a partner who struggles to manage their frustration and anger.
But the reality is also that many people stay with partners who have these flaws, whether because physical or financial considerations play a role, or simply because being used to having someone in your life can make you fear loneliness more than the absence of peace.
This drama genuinely exhausted me because it reflects so many real-life relationships. Peace in a relationship that has problems is often short-lived, and arguments are sometimes caused by insignificant and ridiculous things that could be resolved without getting angry or losing your temper.
In reality, relationships rarely get a second chance after a long separation. We often try not to fall back into our old patterns, and some relationships are so toxic that they end up making us toxic as well.
SZT and LN will have a happy ending, but their relationship remains, in my opinion, an example of what should neither be followed, normalized, nor idealized. After being together for so many years, they still haven’t managed to find compromises or evolve in a healthy direction. Their personalities have changed, but SZT is still deeply affected by insecurity, very low self-esteem, and a lack of confidence in herself. And unfortunately, in real life, it can be difficult to truly change after living in the same patterns for so long.
Being with a partner who makes us feel secure, with whom communication is healthy, can change everything. Even if our ambitions, careers, and interests are different, there is always room for compromise when both people are willing to make an effort.
Thank you to this drama for reminding me why I should watch more modern romances with healthy relationships, just to raise my standards again. 😭 Because honestly, The Early Spring pushed my patience to its absolute limit! It exhausted me so much that it made me realize I would probably never survive a relationship like this… and yet, there are definitely worse ones. 😭
K-dramas have something that C-dramas sometimes lack: they take realism much further. They romanticize toxic relationships less and often show us the frightening reality of certain dynamics without trying to sugarcoat the problems.
You understand that if this kind of couple stays together, it isn’t necessarily because one person has changed so much or finally learned their lesson. The real “lesson” is that they know their problems, they know they might fall back into their old patterns, and yet they still choose to take the risk of staying together. And honestly, that is the hardest reality to accept.
I love C-dramas because they also have this lighter quality that can make certain relationships feel less heavy and exhausting than real life. They allow us to escape. And sometimes, after watching The Early Spring, that is exactly what I need. 😭
He treats her like shit in the car, doesn’t even apologize, but simply because he tells her he missed her, she smiles and forgets everything. SZT settles for the bare minimum from LN. He’ll always go back to causing scenes after a few sweet moments. It’s incredible how incapable he is of changing, and how he only becomes gentle when the situation gets serious.
A puppy-dog look and a few sweet words are all it takes for her to forget and forgive his harshness. Lol, wake up, SZT. You don’t even feel emotionally safe with LN.
How am I supposed to believe that tomorrow’s episodes will actually be convincing enough to make me forget the disaster that is their relationship and all their unresolved issues?
Ep 19 confirmed that, after almost five years together, LN has never been this attentive toward her except during moments of crisis, when he thinks she might leave him. He even confirms it himself when she tells him that she wishes he would be gentle with her more often, and he responds, “So your type is gentle men.”
Every time they go through a crisis, LN brings out his “2.0” sidethe version of him that immediately makes her give in. He has always known what she wanted, but he only gives it to her when he feels like he is in danger of losing her.
And SZT, whenever LN takes a step forward, immediately follows his lead because she feels like he is the one in control of their relationship, when in reality, he is probably the one who is more desperate to keep it going.
More than anything, I feel like she is exhausted by this relationship. One moment everything is fine, and the next they are on the verge of breaking up. Then, when things reach a critical point, LN waits until the relationship is falling apart before becoming sweet, caring, and gentle with her again.
I really feel like we missed a huge part of their story and never actually got to see the dynamics of their relationship in depth. That’s probably why it can sometimes be difficult to understand why, whenever LN is sweet and tender with SZT, it feels like something completely new. Yet from what we’re shown, he doesn’t actually seem to be as cold as SZT believes he can be.
Every couple of days, they get back together blindly, without trying to resolve the differences that caused the breakup or having any real conversations about their priorities. They live in the moment without ever having genuine discussions about their vision for their future together or even addressing the recurring problems that keep poisoning their relationship.
At some point, just break up for good instead of constantly playing tennis and hitting the ball back and forth! Their relationship feels like an endless cycle: crisis, breakup, fear of losing each other, reconciliation, a few moments of tenderness… and then it all starts over. As long as they refuse to address the underlying issues, getting back together is just postponing the inevitable.
I still stand by what I said: Luke is largely responsible for Flora’s insecurities. So many factors, situations, and things he has said have accumulated over time that she has ended up relying more on her friends than on him. But when it comes to the whole situation with her ex, she is clearly at fault, and we have to acknowledge that too: she has no excuse for it.
Exes are exes for a reason. I don’t see any need to maintain such a close relationship with someone who knew her in an intimacy comparable to that of Adam and Eve. Of course anyone would be jealous or uncomfortable seeing their partner maintain that kind of closeness with an ex. She should have understood that certain boundaries were necessary, especially when her boyfriend is right there!
But, as usual, Luke also managed to screw things up. And knowing that big mouth of his, I’m almost certain this is only the beginning and that he’s going to make things even worse later on.
Honestly, free me from this relationship. Let them break up, let’s just get it over with and move on, so we can see them grow separately and, hopefully, become better versions of themselves. Even their tender moments don’t affect me anymore, because once you see all the deep-rooted problems in their relationship, the cute little moments just aren’t enough to make me forget everything else.
After seeing the scene where Flora, after so much hesitation, asks him to take their relationship to the next level getting married and having a baby and he refuses after six fucking years of being together, I understand why she never really had the courage to tell him things to his face and why she doesn’t instinctively turn to him first when there’s a problem. Deep down, she feels that their relationship is still not clear-cut.
Luke tends to talk to her badly whenever there’s the slightest problem, then does the bare minimum when it comes to apologizing, and she quickly forgets everything he says because she’s afraid of leaving him and because she loves him. LN may treat SZT well, but he doesn’t envision a future with her, even though he is fully aware that she wants something concrete.
SZT only entered this kind of relationship because she liked LN and knew that he was afraid of ending up with a “clingy” woman. So she put up boundaries to make their relationship work and to protect her professional life. The paradox is that LN himself is clingy, possessive, and intrusive with her, while he can’t stand that kind of behavior from women.
If SZT had told him from the beginning that she was looking for a serious relationship with real commitments, such as marriage and a family life, he probably would have run away. But over time, he ended up falling in love with her.
Being LN’s girlfriend doesn’t mean anything in itself. He enjoys the sexual relationship and publicly claims her as his girlfriend, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he is ready to commit, regardless of how he feels about her.
From the beginning, I’ve had the feeling that SZT put her own personal standards aside in order to adapt to LN after realizing what his view of relationships was. And unfortunately, that’s quite realistic.
She feels ready to get married and have children. If, after all this time, he still needs more time, then she was right to put an end to the relationship, because this whole story ultimately leaves a bitter taste of wasted time.
Sun Qian’s legs are gorgeous 😍 I thought she was 1.78m tall, but she’s actually about the same height as Wang Churan! I’m actually wondering if she has ever walked in fashion shows, because she definitely has a model-like presence.
As a tall girl myself, I really love seeing Chinese actresses whose height doesn’t create a completely disproportionate difference with their male co-stars. Even though, paradoxically, I’m also a huge fan of couples with a noticeable height difference. 🤭
Luan Nian is exactly the kind of guy whom a woman, once she has achieved success herself, would probably never give a second look. She could easily think, “There are so many better fish in the sea, so why bother catching this one when I could find another that would be much more satisfying?” 😭
From the very beginning, Shang Zhi Tao has constantly made adjustments to her behavior to adapt to Luan Nian and what she believed were his expectations. After their first night together, that experience completely put her on guard. She instinctively understood that, if she wanted to start a relationship with him, she needed to establish certain rules and boundaries that, at that point, would make her feel secure enough for their relationship to last.
In my opinion, Luan Nian is largely responsible for SZT’s lack of communication. He tends to brush aside her concerns instead of actually listening to her and trying to understand them. Over time, she ended up struggling to genuinely express what she was feeling.
And the most frustrating part is that he puts her down even though he was the one who insisted the most on starting a relationship with her. Being his girlfriend ultimately means very little if there is no real commitment behind it. He is wasting her time when he knows perfectly well that he is not ready to get engaged or married. And deep down, he also knows that SZT is a woman who wants stability and a relationship built on genuine commitment.
He can be extremely hurtful toward her. Yet when he was pursuing her and insisting that she agree to be with him, he didn’t seem to care at all about her concerns regarding her career. He wanted her in his life, but he never really seemed to care about what she expected from the relationship.
To me, he doesn’t truly respect her. If he genuinely respected her, he would have realized by now that some of the things he does hurt her. And if it takes him six years and a breakup to finally realize SZT’s value in his life, then honestly, he deserves to be forgotten. 😭 He is far too self-centered.
The problem with someone like him is that being with them can eventually change you too. Constantly having to adapt to their behavior, suppress your concerns, and make compromises just to preserve the relationship can make you develop unhealthy patterns that aren’t really who you are. SZT has grown emotionally throughout their relationship, but I feel like that growth has sometimes taken her in the wrong direction, partly because of their dynamic.
And that’s exactly why I would rather be with a complete asshole whom you can immediately recognize as someone you want to run away from and dump from the start, rather than a guy like Luke: someone who may have certain good qualities and seem attractive at first, but whose behavior gradually ends up wasting your time, draining your energy, and changing you emotionally.
They should have kept the scene where SZT asks Luke to take their FWB relationship to the next level, and Luke rejects the idea. That’s ultimately what pushed her to end their relationship. It would have made much more sense.
Here, although Luke is clearly more at fault, SZT also has her share of the blame. There’s obviously a communication problem between them. But I can’t really blame SZT for thinking and acting the way she does. Luke really isn’t helping her.
Funny. I like Luke in the novel much more than prettied up version in the drama and I like her in the novel MUCH…
I like realistic relationships, and it’s clear to me that the relationship dynamic in the novel isn’t realistic. Luke is condescending, constantly puts her under pressure, and has an almost cold, unsympathetic attitude. He behaves like a complete asshole, and it’s clearly intentional. He constantly seems to look down on Flora and always thinks she’s incredibly stupid. Honestly, no sane person would have stayed with him for more than five or six months.
In the novel, Flora is genuinely heartbreaking to read about, and this is clearly the kind of relationship that, in real life, you wouldn’t give a second chance to, even if he eventually changed.
I think the drama did a good job of making him more of a red flag than a black flag, because idealizing or romanticizing a character like Luke in a romantic context would be really problematic, especially knowing that she ultimately stays with him. The drama made him more nuanced: he’s still a red flag, but it feels more realistic. He comes across as less contemptuous, and we understand his intentions better.
In the drama, it’s clear that he mainly wants something physical, even though it’s less explicit and presented in a softer way. He leans more into his caring side and is less harsh. In real life, people can sometimes use attention and affection to seduce someone and create an emotional attachment.
The Luke from the novel could probably only seduce a version of Shang Zhi Tao who was extremely innocent, and I don’t think he would have been able to seduce the version of her we see in the drama. That’s just my opinion, though. I’ll probably finish the novel after the drama ends, so maybe my opinion will change. The novel isn’t a waste of time, but I wouldn’t call it an amazing read either.
I had to stop reading the novel so I wouldn’t ruin my experience of the drama. To anyone who might be tempted to read it while the drama is airing: DON’T DO IT. 😭
Luke is a massive black flag in the novel. Everything he says and thinks leaves me speechless like… what an asshole! Luan Nian in the drama is an angel compared to her novel counterpart. How could she possibly put up with staying with him? 💀
If Yake had had a little more discernment, she probably could have built a beautiful and solid relationship with YJX. The problem is that, at the time, she wasn’t genuinely interested in him as a person; she was mainly attracted to his status. So she never took the time to truly understand him or even analyze his behavior. Yet, for her own sake, knowing how to evaluate a potential partner, understand his personality, and act accordingly is essential.
I always felt that she lacked education and intelligence, despite the fact that her father was a respectable and highly educated man. She seemed mostly interested in superficial things: jewelry, appearances, luxury, and she was also very envious of what others had. But episode 33 shows that she is far from being incapable or ignorant. She is educated, capable, and intelligent. She simply always wanted what she didn’t have. And once she finally obtained it, she suffered because of it and eventually realized, too late, that what she had wanted so badly was ultimately neither as important nor as useful as she had imagined.
The failure of her marriage and this painful period of her life ultimately changed her. She began using the abilities and knowledge she had always possessed to move forward on her own. She actually had everything it would have taken to keep YJX wrapped around her finger and shape him into the man she wanted, because she possessed everything he was looking for in a partner. In many ways, she was even far too good for an emotionally foolish man like him. 😂
But Yake is not like Ting Yun. Deep down, she never truly loved learning or anything related to scholarship. Life forced her to take that path. She eventually learned that she had to rely on herself and her own strengths instead of chasing things that didn’t truly belong to her.
She isn’t necessarily a good person, but she followed her own path and eventually learned from her mistakes, no matter how serious they were.
And I think Ting Yun would probably have followed a very different path if she hadn’t fallen so hard. She might have married YJX, or another man of similar status, and could very well have ended up like Mrs. Yu. But the path she was forced to take ultimately taught her lessons she probably would never have learned otherwise. The power and status she had wanted so badly eventually became overshadowed by her desire for a quiet and peaceful life with Zhao Ling. She even came to regret pushing him toward a life centered around power, realizing that what she truly wanted was for him to be able to live a simpler and more peaceful life with her.
What happened with his ex would have been enough to make anyone stay away from Luan Nian. A woman that obsessive and relentless in stalking him would eventually have gone after his new girlfriend and hurt her (although I’m pretty sure she won’t be showing up again). But Zhi Tao is out here talking to him about an amicable breakup and even fantasizing about it 😂😂. She subconsciously loves trouble 😂😂.
This girl who ran into his arms is going to become a problem, isn’t she? I feel like she has feelings for him. 😏 Jing Bo Ran is so charming here, and so damn sexy 🫣🔥. Their chemistry is insane! You can feel that there’s something going on between them just from their interactions. It’s clear that he’s going to deeply regret his choices… and I’m here for it. 😌
I finished Blossoms of Power completely in love with the Cui Jin Bai and Bu Shu Lin couple and now I find myself stuck with the despicable Yu Jing Xiu and Fan Ya Ke. Talk about going from one extreme to the other! 😂
Zou’s situation isn’t really as black and white as it seems though. She was a young girl (probably not even…
Zuo admitted that she married for money. She was fully aware of what that meant: coming from a modest family, she chose this path for her own financial interests. She wanted to enjoy a luxurious life, just as Ya Ke betrayed her friend while fully understanding what her actions meant, simply to gain a certain status.
She wanted to dissolve the marriage even though the grandmother probably would never have agreed but once again, she gave in when her brother was promised a promising future. Her brother ultimately failed because he was useless, and she came to regret it because she realized that he would never be able to become the support she was counting on.
She had tasted money and luxury, but she also discovered that behind those colorful walls, everything inside was much grayer. Without a husband or children to support her, she felt that she was worth nothing. She had always craved recognition and liked to show herself off, wear colorful clothes, and attract attention. But over time, she realized that the grandmother sometimes let her do as she pleased only to keep her under control more effectively.
She is someone who constantly plays the victim. She refuses to admit her ulterior motives, her desire for wealth and glory. At first, it was a win-win arrangement: she had something to gain from it, and she accepted it knowingly. But over time, she realized that this life was ultimately not as wonderful as she had imagined and began to regret it.
She also knew that, in this family, no one was truly indispensable in the old lady’s eyes. All the daughters-in-law lived with their own fears and apprehensions. Yet instead of learning from what she witnessed and becoming wiser, she chose the path of hatred and resentment. She closed her eyes to the suffering of others and focused only on her own, going so far as to target people who had done nothing to her and seek to ruin their lives.
She had always felt inferior and wanted to use Ting Yun to improve her own status, particularly by marrying him to her brother. Yes, she lived in loneliness, but loneliness is not an excuse. It allows us to understand some of her wounds and choices, but it does not justify her actions.
Ya Ke is sacrificing her youth for a choice motivated by status, but even her youth, her living conditions, and her feelings of inferiority are not enough for me to understand or accept her choices. The same goes for Zuo: their motivations and their stories allow us to understand why they acted this way, but they do not justify the decisions they made or the harm they caused to others.
K-Drama 
1 
They simply swept everything under the rug. Their relationship is a ticking time bomb: everything they refuse to confront eventually explodes between them because they never work on the real issues at the heart of their relationship.
Despite the happy ending, this drama leaves me with a very bitter, unfinished feeling. Their chemistry and visuals were what saved this drama. The beginning was so promising, but unfortunately, the rest didn’t live up to its potential.
For me, the best ending would have been a definitive separation, because they are incapable of growing and maturing together in a healthy and positive way.
But the reality is also that many people stay with partners who have these flaws, whether because physical or financial considerations play a role, or simply because being used to having someone in your life can make you fear loneliness more than the absence of peace.
This drama genuinely exhausted me because it reflects so many real-life relationships. Peace in a relationship that has problems is often short-lived, and arguments are sometimes caused by insignificant and ridiculous things that could be resolved without getting angry or losing your temper.
In reality, relationships rarely get a second chance after a long separation. We often try not to fall back into our old patterns, and some relationships are so toxic that they end up making us toxic as well.
SZT and LN will have a happy ending, but their relationship remains, in my opinion, an example of what should neither be followed, normalized, nor idealized. After being together for so many years, they still haven’t managed to find compromises or evolve in a healthy direction. Their personalities have changed, but SZT is still deeply affected by insecurity, very low self-esteem, and a lack of confidence in herself. And unfortunately, in real life, it can be difficult to truly change after living in the same patterns for so long.
Being with a partner who makes us feel secure, with whom communication is healthy, can change everything. Even if our ambitions, careers, and interests are different, there is always room for compromise when both people are willing to make an effort.
Thank you to this drama for reminding me why I should watch more modern romances with healthy relationships, just to raise my standards again. 😭 Because honestly, The Early Spring pushed my patience to its absolute limit! It exhausted me so much that it made me realize I would probably never survive a relationship like this… and yet, there are definitely worse ones. 😭
K-dramas have something that C-dramas sometimes lack: they take realism much further. They romanticize toxic relationships less and often show us the frightening reality of certain dynamics without trying to sugarcoat the problems.
You understand that if this kind of couple stays together, it isn’t necessarily because one person has changed so much or finally learned their lesson. The real “lesson” is that they know their problems, they know they might fall back into their old patterns, and yet they still choose to take the risk of staying together. And honestly, that is the hardest reality to accept.
I love C-dramas because they also have this lighter quality that can make certain relationships feel less heavy and exhausting than real life. They allow us to escape. And sometimes, after watching The Early Spring, that is exactly what I need. 😭
A puppy-dog look and a few sweet words are all it takes for her to forget and forgive his harshness. Lol, wake up, SZT. You don’t even feel emotionally safe with LN.
How am I supposed to believe that tomorrow’s episodes will actually be convincing enough to make me forget the disaster that is their relationship and all their unresolved issues?
Every time they go through a crisis, LN brings out his “2.0” sidethe version of him that immediately makes her give in. He has always known what she wanted, but he only gives it to her when he feels like he is in danger of losing her.
And SZT, whenever LN takes a step forward, immediately follows his lead because she feels like he is the one in control of their relationship, when in reality, he is probably the one who is more desperate to keep it going.
More than anything, I feel like she is exhausted by this relationship. One moment everything is fine, and the next they are on the verge of breaking up. Then, when things reach a critical point, LN waits until the relationship is falling apart before becoming sweet, caring, and gentle with her again.
I really feel like we missed a huge part of their story and never actually got to see the dynamics of their relationship in depth. That’s probably why it can sometimes be difficult to understand why, whenever LN is sweet and tender with SZT, it feels like something completely new. Yet from what we’re shown, he doesn’t actually seem to be as cold as SZT believes he can be.
Every couple of days, they get back together blindly, without trying to resolve the differences that caused the breakup or having any real conversations about their priorities. They live in the moment without ever having genuine discussions about their vision for their future together or even addressing the recurring problems that keep poisoning their relationship.
At some point, just break up for good instead of constantly playing tennis and hitting the ball back and forth! Their relationship feels like an endless cycle: crisis, breakup, fear of losing each other, reconciliation, a few moments of tenderness… and then it all starts over. As long as they refuse to address the underlying issues, getting back together is just postponing the inevitable.
Exes are exes for a reason. I don’t see any need to maintain such a close relationship with someone who knew her in an intimacy comparable to that of Adam and Eve. Of course anyone would be jealous or uncomfortable seeing their partner maintain that kind of closeness with an ex. She should have understood that certain boundaries were necessary, especially when her boyfriend is right there!
But, as usual, Luke also managed to screw things up. And knowing that big mouth of his, I’m almost certain this is only the beginning and that he’s going to make things even worse later on.
Honestly, free me from this relationship. Let them break up, let’s just get it over with and move on, so we can see them grow separately and, hopefully, become better versions of themselves. Even their tender moments don’t affect me anymore, because once you see all the deep-rooted problems in their relationship, the cute little moments just aren’t enough to make me forget everything else.
Luke tends to talk to her badly whenever there’s the slightest problem, then does the bare minimum when it comes to apologizing, and she quickly forgets everything he says because she’s afraid of leaving him and because she loves him. LN may treat SZT well, but he doesn’t envision a future with her, even though he is fully aware that she wants something concrete.
SZT only entered this kind of relationship because she liked LN and knew that he was afraid of ending up with a “clingy” woman. So she put up boundaries to make their relationship work and to protect her professional life. The paradox is that LN himself is clingy, possessive, and intrusive with her, while he can’t stand that kind of behavior from women.
If SZT had told him from the beginning that she was looking for a serious relationship with real commitments, such as marriage and a family life, he probably would have run away. But over time, he ended up falling in love with her.
Being LN’s girlfriend doesn’t mean anything in itself. He enjoys the sexual relationship and publicly claims her as his girlfriend, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he is ready to commit, regardless of how he feels about her.
From the beginning, I’ve had the feeling that SZT put her own personal standards aside in order to adapt to LN after realizing what his view of relationships was. And unfortunately, that’s quite realistic.
She feels ready to get married and have children. If, after all this time, he still needs more time, then she was right to put an end to the relationship, because this whole story ultimately leaves a bitter taste of wasted time.
As a tall girl myself, I really love seeing Chinese actresses whose height doesn’t create a completely disproportionate difference with their male co-stars. Even though, paradoxically, I’m also a huge fan of couples with a noticeable height difference. 🤭
From the very beginning, Shang Zhi Tao has constantly made adjustments to her behavior to adapt to Luan Nian and what she believed were his expectations. After their first night together, that experience completely put her on guard. She instinctively understood that, if she wanted to start a relationship with him, she needed to establish certain rules and boundaries that, at that point, would make her feel secure enough for their relationship to last.
In my opinion, Luan Nian is largely responsible for SZT’s lack of communication. He tends to brush aside her concerns instead of actually listening to her and trying to understand them. Over time, she ended up struggling to genuinely express what she was feeling.
And the most frustrating part is that he puts her down even though he was the one who insisted the most on starting a relationship with her. Being his girlfriend ultimately means very little if there is no real commitment behind it. He is wasting her time when he knows perfectly well that he is not ready to get engaged or married. And deep down, he also knows that SZT is a woman who wants stability and a relationship built on genuine commitment.
He can be extremely hurtful toward her. Yet when he was pursuing her and insisting that she agree to be with him, he didn’t seem to care at all about her concerns regarding her career. He wanted her in his life, but he never really seemed to care about what she expected from the relationship.
To me, he doesn’t truly respect her. If he genuinely respected her, he would have realized by now that some of the things he does hurt her. And if it takes him six years and a breakup to finally realize SZT’s value in his life, then honestly, he deserves to be forgotten. 😭 He is far too self-centered.
The problem with someone like him is that being with them can eventually change you too. Constantly having to adapt to their behavior, suppress your concerns, and make compromises just to preserve the relationship can make you develop unhealthy patterns that aren’t really who you are. SZT has grown emotionally throughout their relationship, but I feel like that growth has sometimes taken her in the wrong direction, partly because of their dynamic.
And that’s exactly why I would rather be with a complete asshole whom you can immediately recognize as someone you want to run away from and dump from the start, rather than a guy like Luke: someone who may have certain good qualities and seem attractive at first, but whose behavior gradually ends up wasting your time, draining your energy, and changing you emotionally.
Here, although Luke is clearly more at fault, SZT also has her share of the blame. There’s obviously a communication problem between them. But I can’t really blame SZT for thinking and acting the way she does. Luke really isn’t helping her.
In the novel, Flora is genuinely heartbreaking to read about, and this is clearly the kind of relationship that, in real life, you wouldn’t give a second chance to, even if he eventually changed.
I think the drama did a good job of making him more of a red flag than a black flag, because idealizing or romanticizing a character like Luke in a romantic context would be really problematic, especially knowing that she ultimately stays with him. The drama made him more nuanced: he’s still a red flag, but it feels more realistic. He comes across as less contemptuous, and we understand his intentions better.
In the drama, it’s clear that he mainly wants something physical, even though it’s less explicit and presented in a softer way. He leans more into his caring side and is less harsh. In real life, people can sometimes use attention and affection to seduce someone and create an emotional attachment.
The Luke from the novel could probably only seduce a version of Shang Zhi Tao who was extremely innocent, and I don’t think he would have been able to seduce the version of her we see in the drama. That’s just my opinion, though. I’ll probably finish the novel after the drama ends, so maybe my opinion will change. The novel isn’t a waste of time, but I wouldn’t call it an amazing read either.
Luke is a massive black flag in the novel. Everything he says and thinks leaves me speechless like… what an asshole! Luan Nian in the drama is an angel compared to her novel counterpart. How could she possibly put up with staying with him? 💀
I always felt that she lacked education and intelligence, despite the fact that her father was a respectable and highly educated man. She seemed mostly interested in superficial things: jewelry, appearances, luxury, and she was also very envious of what others had. But episode 33 shows that she is far from being incapable or ignorant. She is educated, capable, and intelligent. She simply always wanted what she didn’t have. And once she finally obtained it, she suffered because of it and eventually realized, too late, that what she had wanted so badly was ultimately neither as important nor as useful as she had imagined.
The failure of her marriage and this painful period of her life ultimately changed her. She began using the abilities and knowledge she had always possessed to move forward on her own. She actually had everything it would have taken to keep YJX wrapped around her finger and shape him into the man she wanted, because she possessed everything he was looking for in a partner. In many ways, she was even far too good for an emotionally foolish man like him. 😂
But Yake is not like Ting Yun. Deep down, she never truly loved learning or anything related to scholarship. Life forced her to take that path. She eventually learned that she had to rely on herself and her own strengths instead of chasing things that didn’t truly belong to her.
She isn’t necessarily a good person, but she followed her own path and eventually learned from her mistakes, no matter how serious they were.
And I think Ting Yun would probably have followed a very different path if she hadn’t fallen so hard. She might have married YJX, or another man of similar status, and could very well have ended up like Mrs. Yu. But the path she was forced to take ultimately taught her lessons she probably would never have learned otherwise. The power and status she had wanted so badly eventually became overshadowed by her desire for a quiet and peaceful life with Zhao Ling. She even came to regret pushing him toward a life centered around power, realizing that what she truly wanted was for him to be able to live a simpler and more peaceful life with her.
She wanted to dissolve the marriage even though the grandmother probably would never have agreed but once again, she gave in when her brother was promised a promising future. Her brother ultimately failed because he was useless, and she came to regret it because she realized that he would never be able to become the support she was counting on.
She had tasted money and luxury, but she also discovered that behind those colorful walls, everything inside was much grayer. Without a husband or children to support her, she felt that she was worth nothing. She had always craved recognition and liked to show herself off, wear colorful clothes, and attract attention. But over time, she realized that the grandmother sometimes let her do as she pleased only to keep her under control more effectively.
She is someone who constantly plays the victim. She refuses to admit her ulterior motives, her desire for wealth and glory. At first, it was a win-win arrangement: she had something to gain from it, and she accepted it knowingly. But over time, she realized that this life was ultimately not as wonderful as she had imagined and began to regret it.
She also knew that, in this family, no one was truly indispensable in the old lady’s eyes. All the daughters-in-law lived with their own fears and apprehensions. Yet instead of learning from what she witnessed and becoming wiser, she chose the path of hatred and resentment. She closed her eyes to the suffering of others and focused only on her own, going so far as to target people who had done nothing to her and seek to ruin their lives.
She had always felt inferior and wanted to use Ting Yun to improve her own status, particularly by marrying him to her brother. Yes, she lived in loneliness, but loneliness is not an excuse. It allows us to understand some of her wounds and choices, but it does not justify her actions.
Ya Ke is sacrificing her youth for a choice motivated by status, but even her youth, her living conditions, and her feelings of inferiority are not enough for me to understand or accept her choices. The same goes for Zuo: their motivations and their stories allow us to understand why they acted this way, but they do not justify the decisions they made or the harm they caused to others.