Meese

I wanted to give a shoutout to Mike for being a great Thai host/friend throughout the series. He was hilarious throughout the 12 episodes.

Obviously, I don't know these people and I can only presume, but everything just gave that the SAL cast got along for the most part based on the BTS clips and actually became friends. The cast also just seems charming and open to having a good laugh together which is what I think comes off on the screen and BTS. YSX and HY also just seem to have similar senses of humor IRL which makes them just fun to watch. With how they were able to make us grow so attached to the drama and then seeing them also get along IRL working together to promote the show to the best of their abilities on their own, it's just sweet. That's why I'm hoping if nothing else, they can remain at least friends/good colleagues BTS for as long as possible.

Do we know who else the screenwriter has casted in the past/what projects she has upcoming? I'm curious if she might just have a sixth sense for this sort of thing or if this was a one off where things just came together in the end.

I believe I saw she was at a script reading for Yun Chu Ling within the last couple days with the rumored male lead. It's on her MDL page if you want to check it out. I'm not sure if whatever is going on in China means filming will be more hidden/unofficial though.

I'm also interested in how HY does. It is actually sort of exciting to see actors/actresses get their break and how they grow from there. I did learn that idol actors/actresses can get overworked with shooting 3+ dramas/year, so hopefully with this big break, he can get better opportunities and not have to exhaust himself while dealing with all the new attention.

Just to keep the joke alive, I’ll be Hi 7 instead 🤣

Hopefully there’s not a Hi7 after me.

Hi 5! I actually think it would be sort of funny to skip Hi 6 because at this point, I think it’s safe to assume we’re not getting Hi6

He Zhang (I think that was his name - the blond guy from Wan's garage) likes her but things happen and post Thailand, we sort of lose Snakey until the very end where she's there mostly to just be support. I think though they could have been cute if explored.

I also loved just how much that comment bothered JZ who is normally so nonchalant🤣

It’s definitely Wattpad coded which is what lends part of its charm to those who enjoy it, but if that’s not something you’re into, that’s understandable. Watch stuff that makes you happy.

I saw a TT comment with her face in that scene as a meme and it was perfect all around 😆

I totally understand your anger. I too went through all those thoughts and it was offputting. After learning more about the novel, I think this is one area that didn't get adapted very well tbh.

I think some of JZ's background and personality at this point was missed in terms of it being clearer. He grew up as someone who was fearful of being abandoned and someone who believes in self sacrifice for a loved one. In the novel, instead of just nerve damage, he also lost a leg. I think his feeling of unworthiness post accident and not wanting to burden his loved ones gets a bit lost, especially with the cut off all contact from JM's POV and having friends and family lie to her. It definitely wouldn't be easy on his end to watch JM sacrifice her early 20's taking care of him or have to choose to be with him vs be with her mother who was also undergoing serious surgery. I think you see a bit more of this aspect of JZ in a couple more episodes should you choose to continue, but yeah, it didn't come across great. I think the "noble idiocy" trope also plays a role in terms of JM's character and how she helps JZ to grow when they do reunite. It's annoying, but big picture, it's much more palatable looking back.

I think the other place they dropped the ball is that in the novel, he wanted to reach back out, but the dad made him also promise to not contact JM. The dad also didn't want JM to be burdened taking care of JZ and wanted her to have a fully able partner. Wanting to respect your father figure's wishes that align with your own fears in reuniting with your loved one softens the separation too but for whatever reason, they chose not to add that to the show, and instead, it was all because of JZ.

I also love the gray hair scene!

I have two more:

1) The scene with Lin Sui and San Lai where birds keep landing on Lin Sui and he keeps trying to ask about getting them off until eventually, he has three birds pirched on him.
2) When JM is trying to get JZ to give her a ride to school after sleeping in. She keeps coming up with excuses for why she shouldn't take the bus and JZ keeps giving reasonable answers to have her take the bus and then she runs by and makes the "tch" noise. Her face during that "tch" just cracks me up.

I think it was supposed to be a Russian professor. I've seen a lot of comments where the Canada scenes don't make a lot sense language/accent wise.

Do you know if that was the plan for SAL from the beginning or if that was a more recent decision?

It just seems odd for a platform who might not have the best presence overseas (since I'm in NA, I'm thinking NA specifically) to not go ahead and use an exisiting platform to get their name out there, especially with how it seems to be resonating internationally.

I actually really enjoyed discovering Mike too through SAL. He just seems like a fun guy and a good friend and I appreciated that even if his Chinese isn't the best, he was there for 2/3 of the livestreams supporting them. That plus all the cat ear moments I laughed at a lot during those livestreams being thanks to Mike.

I saw SOM on Netflix and was also sad.

I did see MJTY (IQIYI) is on Amazon Prime who also has Culpa Mia and TSITP which I can see the parallels to both. I would take that too for SAL to get it out there.

I'm glad it seems to translate pretty well to others.

I'm enjoying following along with her SAL journey on her IG stories 🤣. Last I saw she was on episode 21.

That's good to hear :)

I also saw a drama where they casted someone underaged and paired them with someone else definitely NOT underaged and was like 🥴. I don't know how when it's time to promote the drama what those interactions would be like because that's walking a bit of fine line there if you're trying to sell a romance drama.

ETA: With this drama specifically, HY is 29. NGL, I can see where it could have been weird to have paired him with a late teens and even potentially early 20's actress in this show where one of the attractions is the spicy scenes. That could have just invited mess.