Platinum Fox

Actually, I have to disagree with you on Meet You at the Blossom. I watched the first four episodes, and they are definitely poking fun at heterosexual couples in period pieces. It seems to be a satire on period dramas.

The first 26 episodes were hilarious and great parody on xianxia dramas. I loved the symbolism that the immortals are full of hot air which really comes into play later on in the drama.

Yes, there is one other one in the trilogy When I Meet the Moon. Not sure whose story that is.

Not me, I found she had more chemistry with the younger brother in Dating in the Kitchen than with the older guy. My favorite scene with her and the older guy was when he was her human bubble machine.

The chemistry here is more subtle as SHM really didn't start to love her until he realized what he had put her through and needed to atone for his transgression. This wasn't until the very last part of the show. jmo

They are a part of the same universe, but can be watched separately. Hidden Love is Sang Zhi's love story. The First Frost is Sang Yan's love story.

Sweet, but not profound. Good intro to bl though.

Thirteen years older is not as bad as 18. Zhao Lu Si was 21 when she starred in Dating in the Kitchen. Her co-star was 18 years her senor. These two actually look more age appropriate despite the real age difference. jmo.

We all watch dramas for different reasons. While I also didn't care much for the second half, I understood its purpose and the message the writers were trying to convey. For me, that outweighs everything else. I also understand that this will be Zhao Lu Si's last drama, and her dramas speak volumes about the Chinese culture of the time and present.

Thanks for the discussion and happy drama watching.

While I agree with you about the comedy part of the drama, it served its purpose. The first half of the drama is serious and fake. Each family is trying to hide something from the world. Even when she lies to SHM's mother at the beginning, she tells the entire truth, but leaves out the fact that these are not her parents. It is a house built on sand. It will not last long.

During the second half, the writers play with appearance vs. reality in order to create comedy and deception. The question game is there to prove that they are not real couple. Remember the real couple (from Russia) get every question right. XY and SHM get one out of three. However, it is the last one that is the most telling as it symbolizes the moment. They have put a bandaid on their marriage in order to get a project for his work. In addition, I hate drunk girl scenes, but even this one had its point. Both were drunk and finally let go of their inhibitions and it allowed them to truly express their feelings for each other.

For me, the clothing business was perfect for the second half. If your going to find your true self, do it all the way to your roots. It was her company and paid for by her and her friends. They are being their true selves even going back to their roots (cultural clothes). She doesn't have to pretend any more in her job. Her previous job(s) were all pretend in the television world. Even the live broadcasts were fake.

Hope this helps, but I do agree with you, I felt the slapstick was little over the top as well, but it served a purpose.

Happy drama watching.

The second half is about the two of them finding their true selves. There are no secrets.

I won't disagree with you as that is the whole point of the drama. Even though he is a green flag male, at first he is very questionable. Even I have to question his motives when he visits her school. What is in for him? We don't understand his reason until episode 25, so I can understand why you find him a questionable character. This drama is not just a social commentary, but also a cautionary tale.

Also, I hope you find something you like.

LolaLola, this drama is a social commentary on the age of consent law in China. Sang Zhi is old enough at the age of 14 to consent to sex without any restrictions. This means she is mature enough to consent to a sexual relationship with someone her own age or 50 years old. Now, the question is, is it morally right for a 14 and 19 year old to be together? So this is why she speaks and acts like a child throughout the time period. The drama is saying no as there is a big difference in height and maturity level.

When she is 17 and he is 22, the same thing applies. Only now the difference is in the maturity level. When she turns 19, even though she isn't of marriageable age (20 for females and 22 for males), she is considered an adult who can enter into business deals, own a business, etc.

This is actually an intelligently written social commentary on the age of consent law. The people of China are trying to get it changed to 16 like most of the world. However, they are not having much luck. If you can't change a law, change the mindset of the people about the law.

I see you are new to MDL. Welcome and happy drama watching.

In China, the age of consent is 14 without restrictions meaning Sang Zhi is mature enough both mentally and physically to handle a sexual relationship with anyone 14 and older. By casting the 11 year old, it helps portray that 14 year olds are still children and need to be protected from older people even those just five years older because they, the couple, would look like father and daughter. Throughout the drama, Sang Yan and DJX are sometimes referred to as Sang Zhi's father. This was to create comedy, but also show the differences between a 14 and 19 year old.

This drama is an intelligently written social commentary on the age of consent.

You're right we shouldn't expect something every time we do something, and I will not take offense with your remark as you have just proved my point. Everyday we walk out of the house and seek validation as a human being through our jobs, through our friends, through our lovers, through our family, through this comment board, and of course, no one is obligated to validate us in any way. We do it because we are human beings and want someone (anyone) to recognize us as a human being. So apply this logic to ZWY.

ZWY is on the frontier because of what his father did. He is ostracized from society. What did he personally do wrong? Nothing. Sang Qi chooses to treat him differently and be nice to him. She chooses to treat him as a human being. It is because of her that he aspires to do well in school and earn the top spot, so that he can be worthy of her in the future. When she comes to the college, as a friend, she expects him to help her get in and even uses tactics to guilt him into doing it as he didn't want to do it. By this time, it is pretty clear that she is only using him to get what she wants. Remember she visits ZWY even before she visits her dad. It tells you where her priorities are and her thinking.

What's worse? Someone who directly tells you that you are a worthless human being or someone who makes you feel like a human being and then ends up using you like a kleenex. For me, Sang Qi is the second one.

I see that you have watched The First Frost and liked it. You should watch Hidden Love (it the same universe as TFF) to understand what I am talking about with this.

Also, you don't have to agree with my thoughts on the matter, nor do you even need to read this response. That's your prerogative.

Thank you for the discussion. Happy drama watching.

"A long friendship develops a sibling bond not the romantic. If you can't grasp that then something wrong with you."

I disagree with you. Long term friendships can turn into love and romance. In fact, your lover should be your best friend, no matter how long you have known the person. So your argument that just because they didn't fall in love on the frontier doesn't justify her actions of not taking the time to listen to him when he was trying to express his feelings for her. As a long time friend, this would be just plain courtesy. In fact, it is her actions that lead him to do what he does. Friends listen to each other, even though they may not like what they hear. If this makes me warped or misguided then so be it.

Can we out grow friends, sure. But at the time that she refused to listen to him, they were still friends and were still doing activities together. They were not in separate cities nor had they been away from each for a long period of time.

Thank you for the discussion and happy drama watching.

You have some good questions, so let's start with the first one. What is friendship? What does it mean to be a friend to someone? If she was under no obligation to care about anyone else's feelings but her own, then she shouldn't have been his friend out on the frontier. She had no obligation to be his friend there as everyone else picked on him, but she was nice to him. She stood up for him. She protected him from everyone else. Was this friendship or her just being nice?

When she arrived in the city, the first thing she was going to do was visit her "friend" who already studied at the college. Before she entered, ZWY was doing fine on his own and earned the top spot time and time again. He was even one of the four most eligible bachelors in the city. She relied on him to help her get into the college once she had permission from the emperor. He wasn't even going to help, but he did anyway, so who was being a friend here?

Did he expect something in return? It didn't appear to me that he did. But I don't think he expected her to fall in love with someone else as she was there to study, not get married. Also, he had never expressed any feelings for her before this as he felt he wasn't worthy of her until he graduated with top honors. So no they were not in a committed relationship, but a "friend" would have at least let someone express how they feel, even if they didn't want to hear it. So for your arguments to work, we have to define what it means to be a friend and was she his friend in the beginning or was she just being nice to him on the frontier?

If she wasn't his friend on the frontier, then I would agree with you that his feelings were his to deal with and she was under no obligation to listen to him. So this makes her no different than his aunt. After she got what she wanted from him, then she could discard him like a used piece of paper. Which by the end, I could see why he became selfish in his quest to woo her.

Now, was he the right person for her? No, he didn't understand her ambition and what she really wanted to accomplish when she went to the college. The Chief did understand what she wanted to accomplish as it was his goal as well, so they were perfect match. jmo

Thank you for the discussion and happy drama watching.

Actually at the time of filming she was 11. She is there for another reason as well which is why you probably feel uncomfortable. Since I don't know how far you are, I don't want to spoil it for you.

They needed the actress for her height and smallness due to Sang Zhi being sick as a child and underdeveloped.

Fun Fact: the girl who played 14 year old Sang Zhi has played the younger version of Zhao Lu Si's character in other dramas.

This reminded me so much of the U.S. TV show Dexter. It really does try to answer are we the way we are due to our nature or the way we were nurtured? Do we have free will, if our genes determine who we are?

Your analysis of the drama is spot on and I agree with it. However, your interpretation and my interpretation are very different. I asked the question, "What did we learn from this drama?" The goal in that society was to marry into a rich family and be a part of the upper echelon. Both sisters achieve that goal, but through different strategies with different results. The sister who goes about getting her husband by being a witch with a b, gets the rich count (goal achieved) who turns out to be abusive and has numerous concubines. (punishment for not doing it the right way). Ming Lan, on the other hand, meek and mild, gets the rich general who is very loving. Her reward for doing things the right way.

From your list of completed dramas, I see that you mainly watch dramas from the last four to five years. In China, women's stories have taken a different turn than those from 2010-2019. Strong women are no longer portrayed as villains, but normal people. The Story of Ming Lan and Ashes of Love are from a previous time and portray women very differently (no matter the genre) than modern ones. You will understand what I see when you have watched more dramas from 2010-2019.

Again, thank you for the discussion and insights. Happy drama watching.