Disclaimer: This is just a casual thought that came to mind while I was watching Road Home, influenced by other Asian dramas I’ve seen. It’s not meant as a serious analysis or a statement about real life—just a relaxed observation.
I don’t know if it’s because I started watching Asian dramas and haven’t consumed as much Western content, but in many of these dramas parents are often portrayed as awful or as major obstacles. In Road Home, both families have problematic relatives. Of course, this is always related to social status, but in many Asian dramas these class-related conflicts are portrayed in a very extreme way. Here in Brazil, if you’re middle class and try to marry someone from the upper class, you usually don’t face such a huge problem like the ones shown in these dramas, even though I might be generalizing a bit. Anyway, so far up to episode 11 this drama feels like a comfort drama, since not much happens as the episodes progress.
So I just finished episode 6 and Bai Yu's acting really seems kind of forced, maybe it's because the script tries…
I get that everything so far is meant to develop the character later on, but it just didn’t click for me. I also noticed some other people felt the same. I’m not super excited to continue right now, so I’ll probably wait to see more opinions first.
So I just finished episode 6 and Bai Yu's acting really seems kind of forced, maybe it's because the script tries…
When I saw the court scene, I thought it was just a writing problem but, knowing that this problem persists and is not only a writing issue but also an acting one, is quite discouraging to continue. But let's see what happens.
Zhu ya wen & Yu Hao Ming really outsmarted Bai Yu in their roles. i never knew this actor of guo rong,he's…
So I just finished episode 6 and Bai Yu's acting really seems kind of forced, maybe it's because the script tries to portray him as a grandiose person, blah blah, and the other actors seem far superior up to what I've seen. Regarding the female lead, her acting seems quite normal to me, as you mentioned, not that she has enough screen time to be observed. I think up to episode 6, where I watched it, the only thing that bothered me was the acting/character seeming a bit forced to me; otherwise, the drama is going well up to what I've seen.
After reading some comments, I wonder to what extent we can consider this drama a historical representation with characters who actually existed. For example, what happened in episode 6, where the protagonist took a big step in court by going directly to the emperor, was probably the best way the screenwriter found to unite the three protagonists in their ideals (I forgot who said that, sorry). Even so, the way he acted there seemed a little forced to me, especially because, as someone mentioned, he was historically a discreet person, so it's hard to see him acting so openly (after knowing that).
I don't know how to explain it; maybe I'm being too demanding. Or maybe it's like PeachBlossom said, that the true protagonist of the story had to be Zhao Kuang Yin (I don't remember exactly what was said), so they kind of need to make the character seem grandiose without perhaps actually being so, which leads them to exaggerate the male protagonist's actions a bit. If I'm not mistaken, JulesL also commented on this.
I believe the points I mentioned don't affect the experience itself, nor what the series intends to show and portray, but, for me, they weaken it a little. That said, the series is very good up to the sixth episode and, from what I've said, it only gets better.
Watching the preview for episode 11 and wanting to wait for more episodes to be released was a mistake. I'm completely hyped to watch it now. I'll be back when it's around episode 20 (which will be hard to hold back, lol).
I don't think we'll get a true villain since everyone is working towards different goals.
I think that would probably be the most sensible direction for the drama to take, or it could use that old formula of the person behind everything, etc. (I sincerely hope not).
I find it funny and irritating when I see the villain being a totally pathetic guy. I don't know, I think I prefer "villains" like in Nirvana in Fire who aren't totally pathetic but aren't perfect either, like Prince Yu for example. And that was the most memorable villain in the C-dramas I've seen so far, I hope this one has some that will be remembered.
Is it region locked on Youtube in Brazil? It's slower, but episode 1 is on Huace's channel there.
When I wrote this, I had only seen on Wetv, IQYI, and Viki that there would be an episode in 3 days, but then I saw on Huace's channel that it was available, so it was just me who hadn't noticed it properly at the time.
It was a huge surprise that the second season came out this year. I watched the first season about 3 or 4 months ago, but honestly, I don't remember much. It's a shame that it only has 28 episodes I believe there are several reasons for that, which is unfortunate. 😥
The first 15 minutes of episode 13 made me laugh and feel angry at the same time lol, like the protagonist wasn't exactly Sherlock Holmes before episode 13, but she could reason a little, so why was she getting so angry? Not to mention it took her a long time to discover the truth. If this drama had 12 episodes, I think it would have been better, maybe because it took so long for ML and FL to get answers to long-running questions that it ended up feeling a bit out of sync, maybe? Or maybe I just couldn't connect with the characters enough to be happy that they discovered the truth or to feel sad about the "injustice" that happened to them? I think in the end the biggest problem with this drama for me, at least, is that I couldn't connect with the characters, even though I liked how the drama goes through cases in each episode, which really caught my attention, and that's what made me finish it so quickly even though it's "slow". It's good because the two don't have much chemistry, and it makes the drama better that way. I'd say that when I finish it, it'll get an 8.5 :)
I think that when I finish this drama, the biggest factor that will keep me from giving it a higher rating than…
I haven't seen many Korean dramas with incredibly strong romantic chemistry, I think I compare them more to Chinese dramas, which have tons of incredibly strong chemistry. But of the ones I've seen, these come to mind, both for romantic chemistry and cast: Descendants of the Sun, It's Okay to Not Be Okay, Flower of Evil, Healer, What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, Her Private Life, Touch Your Heart, Hospital Playlist, Our Blues, Vincenzo, Tomorrow, Blood Free, and My Name. Some of these don't have the best scripts and are a bit slow in parts, but the chemistry between the leads is very good, or if there isn't romance in the ones I listed, the cast fits together very well. (If you haven't seen all of them, because some of the ones I mentioned are kind of the basis for K-dramas).
This drama is funny because, up to episode 9 I've seen, it's unbelievable that there's romance in it. ML and FL do so many bad things to each other that it's comical, and SML is the one who ends up getting hurt. I want to see how the "romance" will develop in this plot 🤣
The first two episodes of this drama are so refreshing that I don't want it to end quickly 😣
I think that when I finish this drama, the biggest factor that will keep me from giving it a higher rating than 8.5 is probably because I didn't see much chemistry between the leads, but maybe it's because when we watch any drama we always compare it to others and you always have a standard that is perhaps high, as mine is.
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I don’t know if it’s because I started watching Asian dramas and haven’t consumed as much Western content, but in many of these dramas parents are often portrayed as awful or as major obstacles. In Road Home, both families have problematic relatives.
Of course, this is always related to social status, but in many Asian dramas these class-related conflicts are portrayed in a very extreme way. Here in Brazil, if you’re middle class and try to marry someone from the upper class, you usually don’t face such a huge problem like the ones shown in these dramas, even though I might be generalizing a bit.
Anyway, so far up to episode 11 this drama feels like a comfort drama, since not much happens as the episodes progress.
I don't know how to explain it; maybe I'm being too demanding. Or maybe it's like PeachBlossom said, that the true protagonist of the story had to be Zhao Kuang Yin (I don't remember exactly what was said), so they kind of need to make the character seem grandiose without perhaps actually being so, which leads them to exaggerate the male protagonist's actions a bit. If I'm not mistaken, JulesL also commented on this.
I believe the points I mentioned don't affect the experience itself, nor what the series intends to show and portray, but, for me, they weaken it a little. That said, the series is very good up to the sixth episode and, from what I've said, it only gets better.
I believe there are several reasons for that, which is unfortunate. 😥