I feel it was a solid 8/8.5Yeah episode 3 was so strong because I felt it was going a mature route but thatās…
Same here. I was ready to give it a 10/10 because I was completely hooked in the beginning, but it became pretty mid by the end. I didn't want to give it a higher rating than I genuinely felt it deserved just because I loved the earlier episodes.
If you actually followed my posts, you'd know I was literally begging for a happy ending and supporting the characters the whole time. But now that I don't like the ending, suddenly I'm a hater? You didn't say anything when I was praising and supporting the series. Where were you then? Or do you only show up when you can't accept someone else's opinion? Not liking one aspect of a series doesn't make someone a hater.
Exactly. That's what I was trying to say. Criticism isn't the same as hate. You can love a series or a ship and still point out things you don't like. Not everyone is going to have the same opinion, and that's completely fine.
Are you okay? What do you mean I was hating? Why would I hate them when they're one of my favorite ships? Not every criticism is hate, and not everyone has to like every single thing. I've even criticized series that I rated 10/10, so does that mean I was hating those too? Can't we point out flaws or things we don't like without immediately being labeled as haters? Criticism and hate aren't the same thing.
I find it really strange how many people romanticize or glorify narratives in which sexual assault or rape is…
I can see where you're coming from because I used to think the same way. I questioned every problematic thing I saw in fiction. But eventually I realized that we can't stop people from writing these stories, nor can we really do much about it. If I judged every series based on my real-life morals, my watchlist would probably be empty by now. I'm not normalizing any of this,I definitely prefer green-flag relationships. The problem is that those kinds of stories are so rare these days that we end up watching a lot of red-flag dynamics instead. At least for me, fiction stays fiction. I don't carry those ideas into real life, and I never will. Even the overall plot of this series involves cheating, both in the story they're acting in and in their real lives. Cheating is obviously wrong, but because it's fictional, I can separate it from reality while still acknowledging that it's wrong. I do agree that these topics should be discussed. Abuse and sexual assault should never be romanticized, no matter what. We shouldn't ignore those conversations. The only point I disagree with is calling Gao Zhun's situation "grooming." Grooming isn't just manipulation,it's when someone, usually an adult, builds trust with a younger or otherwise vulnerable person to exploit them later. Gao Zhun is an adult, and so is Fang Chi, so I don't think "grooming" is the correct term here. Manipulation or exploitation? Sure. But not grooming. Other than that, I understand and agree with most of what you said.
It has nothing to do with the happy ending. I don't mind happy or sad endings if they're well executed. My issue is that the last two episodes felt rushed and way too romance-focused. I also didn't like how Tanrak treated his best friend after meeting Barth. I think this series needed more episodes because we barely saw them fall in love or accept their feelings. It started as a 10/10 for me, but ended up being a 7/10. I honestly don't see myself rewatching it.
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You didn't say anything when I was praising and supporting the series. Where were you then?
Or do you only show up when you can't accept someone else's opinion? Not liking one aspect of a series doesn't make someone a hater.
Not every criticism is hate, and not everyone has to like every single thing. I've even criticized series that I rated 10/10, so does that mean I was hating those too?
Can't we point out flaws or things we don't like without immediately being labeled as haters? Criticism and hate aren't the same thing.
I'm not normalizing any of this,I definitely prefer green-flag relationships. The problem is that those kinds of stories are so rare these days that we end up watching a lot of red-flag dynamics instead. At least for me, fiction stays fiction. I don't carry those ideas into real life, and I never will.
Even the overall plot of this series involves cheating, both in the story they're acting in and in their real lives. Cheating is obviously wrong, but because it's fictional, I can separate it from reality while still acknowledging that it's wrong.
I do agree that these topics should be discussed. Abuse and sexual assault should never be romanticized, no matter what. We shouldn't ignore those conversations.
The only point I disagree with is calling Gao Zhun's situation "grooming." Grooming isn't just manipulation,it's when someone, usually an adult, builds trust with a younger or otherwise vulnerable person to exploit them later. Gao Zhun is an adult, and so is Fang Chi, so I don't think "grooming" is the correct term here. Manipulation or exploitation? Sure. But not grooming.
Other than that, I understand and agree with most of what you said.