Nonsuch

I always loved this drama. The story is original, it is visually exquisite , camera work is brilliant, acting is excellent, restrained and intense simultaneously . The intrigue is smart, music score accentuates the story and the action. There is humor, there is love, there is duty, there is sorrow, drama and suspense. LMH and KGE are perfect for their roles. He is every inch a King, a scholar and a lover; she is smart, warm, genuine, and brave. The dual role showcases her talent, she is utterly believable in both. The supporting roles are excellent, properly fleshed out, and have their solid character arcs. My one quibble with the drama is the last ep when he is looking for her in all the worlds. It was unnecessary I think, but I am glad of the happy ending.

Why do you claim he is demanding ? Or do you mean he is in demand?

It is a fun drama, and would have been much better if not for FML who is just awful. Probably one of the worst casting decisions I have ever seen in k-drama. The rest of the cast is great, boys are delightful, main older actors are pure gold. Other female characters are good , but FML does spoil the drama a lot, imo. She is in a ton of scenes, she is supposed to be the love interest of the 2 men, but there is zero chemistry with either, and her moping , whining, incessant crying, and clumsy acting are unbearable.

I am at ep 15, and I am getting really bored. Not much development between the leads, repetitious attacks on the FL, ML has next to nothing to do, too many unnecessary characters and plot lines, and on. And why the hell did she stabbed him in front of the whole court? The most idiotic thing ever. Dropping.

Apples to oranges. I guess you don't understand what cultural heritage is, what titles mean, and what respect for other people's culture is.

Exactly. Multiple shows steal names of famous work. Maybe it is not serious to you, but it is serious to us. It is disrespectful. Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past is iconic French literature work, not a schlocky drama about struggles of 20 somethings in Beijing .

I have not seen this, but WTAF with stealing titles of the world famous books and sticking them on dramas that have nothing to do with them? China wants respect from others, but seems to give none to the rest of the world.

Background music especially in the first 10 or so eps, it was the most generic 'elevator' kind to my ear, killing the mood of the scenes. Same goes for the upbeat background in the later scenes dealing with her technological innovations. It was like watching a generic corporate commercial. Production values: the god awful gilded pegasus and angels in front of grandpa house, and he is supposed to be a man of refined taste?- Basically the whole Munich sequence except his corp HQ, was unacceptable. 

Even the plane scenes - which suppose to be a Lufthansa, have you ever seen LH 1 class cabin, or even premium economy? HT is sitting in a seat that looks like Aeroflot in the early 80ties. Then they are using BERLIN aerial shot and street views instead of Munich! They are either that clueless, or they think it doesn't matter? The so called central Munich square with a fake clock tower to indicate the world famous 13 century mechanical clock with moving figures was kind of the last straw for me. Maybe it doesn't matter to some people, or maybe Chinese audience doesn't care about things like that, but for me it was a major turn off, it kind of broke the 4th wall.

Plot wise, they made him a gourmand cook. It takes years and years to learn to cook like that, the man was presumably so busy in Germany he didn't even have time to get laid. Which is enougher thing. I am guessing Chinese censorship is pushing all ML to be some king of virginal paragons. In the book he is 7.5 years older than she is, which makes total sense because he is so much more world savvy , experienced, and knowledgeable. But here they are the same age, and he needs coaching in romance from his assistant. 
There is much more, but it is getting very long. 

I absolutely loved the ML and their scenes together, I think XK was exceptionally good in this role, and she was just great. But I personally could have done without her roommate romance, and without that tired trope of them having connected as kids, and his parents dying in a car crash. I give 9 to dramas that offer something different, with production, camera work, acting story all on the level. To me this drama didn’t have all that.

Each to their own.

No, it doesn't. Production values are total crap, 6 at best, music is crap, some of the story details are ridiculous. The chemistry between leads is what makes this drama, it is fantastic, acting, and most of the dialogue where they didn't screw up the original text in the book. But it is not enough to make it 9 in my book. Not by a long shot.

Yeah, I started to ff a lot of scenes. And that mother!! OMG !

I started to watch because of the author of the book, and high reviews. I am only on ep 4, but it is hard to take the FML . She is utterly spineless and obnoxious. Sure her mother is a monster, and I want to wring her neck, but at the end of the day each of us is responsible for our own choices , even under extreme pressure. In addition medical scenes are ridiculous. ML is overreacting, some scenes are prolonged for no reason, camera spends close to 45 second watching her drying a coat! . All that coupled with the awful muzak that turns every scene into a 2bit melodrama, it is a total eye roll. And all the patriotic speeches! Does it get any better later?

I am not sure the majority of immigrants contemplate whether to lose or not lose their culture when moving from country to country. Ity is not like they think : will get me my better life but will hold on to my heritage. Mostly people don't think about their own culture very deeply until they are presented with a foreign one and have to cope and compare. Thiers just feels like something normal to them, and when presented with a different set of values they tend to see them as crazy. In the late 60 and 70ties, when intercultural field was getting traction, they did studies of Americans on long term overseas assignments - not even immigration, just having to work for 2-3 years somewhere else. Though many loved the experience of living and working abroad, their stress levels were registering as high as soldiers after a battle. They also went through extreme stress on reentry back into their own culture. It made the researchers suggest that first generation immigrants stayed within their own community because it is a survival mechanism, the stress of living in a foreign environment is huge, and it really doesn't go away completely.

I agree that a lot of viewers are attracted to Asian drama because it is much more mellow. I like it too. Not sure what the fate of the "native" population has to do with it at all. Peace :)

This is a huge subject and this discussion is getting all over the place. You are entitled to your opinion, i happen not to share it. Lets just A2D.

If you like history novels, have you tried Dorothy Dunnett? Her Lymond Chronicle is one of my all time favorites. It is very intense, clever, exceptionally well written,historically as accurate as it gets, sensuous, but not a hit of scabrous.

well, if missing qualifier "not only" makes someone unhinged in your eyes, you must be living in a world that scares you 24x7. I am bored with this convo.. Thanks for playing, bye.

I agree that a ton of so called art is total crap, and some of it is disgusting. But I thought we were talking about Korea and Queen Woo. I didn't like GT very much, I even found the books totally exhausting. But at the end of the day to me freedom of expression mostly trumps other considerations. Mostly - because imo nothing is ever absolute. As to the Olympic Opening - it was pure genius, and the runway was probably one of the most inclusive things ever. No wonder it created the idiotic puritan outrage.

What gave me an idea that is not? A degree in intercultural communication, and teaching cross cultural differences for a international consultancy. Food and art, architecture, dress and so on are the top of the iceberg, but it is not a totality of culture. There is a ton of literature on that point, if you don't believe me. I don't have a boss, I am my own boss, so chill. It is annoying because people who don't try to understand new culture bring their old culture into social space. Female Chinese interns in large businesses play cute, baby talk, and try to manipulate in a way that to the western eyes is sexually provoking, frankly disgusting, and extremely out of place at work. Others are overly competitive, while being outwardly subservient, they create racial cliques at work and businesses and gate keep them by race. That changes business culture for the worst, it changes communities for the worst, and also creates extreme resentment in the local populations. Americans by and large are really tolerant to differences, but this sort of behavior pushes many 'locals' to far right, which is not a good thing for any one.

well, that is your opinion and you are entitled to it. I find that "morally acceptable" is not a proper measure for art. You want it to serve your idea of what is morally acceptable, and make art your slave. I want art to be free, even when I don't like what some work arts depicts, or even find it difficult, or don't want to watch it.

Interesting. There are several different photos of him being taken to prison, and in all he has long hair. And his hands are bound.