Phroggies

Mango app but you will need VIP. For what it’s worth, it’s one of the cheapest subscriptions—$1.99/month, at least in the US.

10 minutes in on episode 5 and I’m loving the FL more than ever. I was already such a fan of her life philosophy but this kind of cooperative ethic is so wonderful to see. It reminds me of the ML in The Justice.

Dramacool does not, to my knowledge, do their own subs. Does this mean that there’s a better subbed version out there somewhere?

An observation after my obsessive rewatching of the best scenes: one of the things that sets this drama apart is that the main leads know they’re attracted to each other. So often in Cdramas one or both of the characters don’t know they’re attracted to the other, or don’t admit it even to themselves, or have some reason for hiding it. There’s a kind of frankness here that I’m really enjoying, and it’s obviously helping that chemistry a lot.

“Of course, we would have silenced our phones …”. Yesssss! The only time characters silence their phones is if they’re stranded at an ominously deserted bus stop, or when their romantic interest desperately needs to reach them. And no call or text can just be ignored and handled 20 minutes later! Doesn’t matter if you’re in the middle of a kiss, or a wedding proposal, or surgery, etc.

You guys just spoiled like 70% of modern Cdramas for me! 😁😁😁

Darn it. The wait is killing me. I think I’m just going to have to watch the first four episodes again.

I keep randomly thinking about the scene at the end of episode 4. Don’t think I’m spoiling anything by saying it’s such a great rebuttal to the gossip—and the last line is delicious icing on the cake!

I think that’s a good point, especially as she’s just seen that even as a maid her purity is at risk (when she tries to defend her mistress at the party). This way she gets to leverage her position instead of being completely passive (what a horrible choice,though! She’s also seen that even the top courtesan gets mistreated!).

That’s a good point. I’ve seen some of those TV/DVD ones as well; it didn’t occur to me to make the connection.

Mínguó cosplay is the best cosplay!

I didn’t catch the friend invite! Where was that?

But yes, I want to say her name was Zhi Lin. I just assumed we’d get filled in on the back story later. This does seem to be one of those dramas that fills in as it goes rather than being straightforwardly linear.

I agree with the other response that it’s unlikely that someone else will pick it up—or that Mango will ever revise them. And I love the advice to channel your inner Chinese.

The thing that is driving me crazy is the timing problems. It’s hard enough to be trying to process the spoken Mandarin and the written Chinese subs, but the multisecond delay in the English translations, which then require further processing, is making me super grumpy. Don’t let it scare you off from trying! The show is off to a great start and thus far is worth the trouble.

I had the same thought about the ahistorical nature of her views. We all like to think we’d think way outside the box if we were in a very different era, but people are always limited by their context. It’s not a deal breaker, though. The storyline, the character development, and the main CP’s chemistry are all trumping that, at least for me.

Agreed, though these episodes are unusually long by Cdrama standards, yes? But I’m definitely loving some of these shorter productions!

Episode 3 was hilarious. There was a point at which I thought it was going to turn into something ridiculously cliché and I was going to have to drop it, but no, it was a super funny moment. I’ve fallen in love with the second couple almost as quickly as they did with each other, I’m so happy to see a FL who is gentle and kind but absolutely holds the line, I’m such a huge fan of the message of the show, and yes, the ML is quite handsome and doing a great job.

So it’s looking like yet another great show that will never get the international attention it deserves because of lousy subs. I’m sticking with it—I can understand rom-com Mandarin enough by now that I’ll just watch the raws if it gets any worse—but it pains me that I won’t be able to share this apparent find with most people.

These guys have so much chemistry they don’t even have to be in the same scene for its effects to be felt.

Also hating Mango again. Not only are their subs next to worthless, the timing on the last chunk of the first episode was horribly off (for me at least). Can’t believe I actually pay them money and keep coming back like a total addict.

Kido Ma is in Sharpshooter. This is Kido Gao. It can get confusing!

I suspect we’re going to see more of that side of her, given the discussion of cryptography and spycraft in Episode 29, but in the context of either the Japanese or the KMT rather than Meng.

Ep. 29: A much-needed lump of pure sugar after the trauma of the last several episodes.

Ep. 30: We now return to your regularly scheduled angst.

Also: The actress playing Fanghua is doing a great job.