SAlice

From today's episodes we can see that she never kept him in high regard (you were right about that), that he's trying to please his family by making them believe that he's just using her, but that he cares about her in the end.
Not in an healthy way, but still.
Seems like she has also been a bit moved by him, which I never expected to see to be honest.
After today I think the spoilers about him dying are true, just to make her regret her choices/actions, and let her realize all the mistakes she's made so far.

I'm very, very sorry for your losses ❤️
I can't stop watching it, I'm liking it so much, even if it's clear they cut some scenes, and they could have devoloped some things better.
There is tragedy, but to be honest with you the only scene that made me cry was after that. And I believe it is a scene that resonates with people who have lost someone dear.
So watch it before it ends, because I have a feeling you will like it. Worst case scenario just avoid the last episode😂😭
Or you can rewatch your comfort movie in between some episodes if you feel too sad.
I've rewatched When Harry Met Sally, and Sleepless in Seattle😂

We can call it obsession or a sick, toxic way to love.
I think that you're partly right, I just don't think that's his only reason, nor the one that emerged first when they were kids.
I don't believe they were born devious.
I think that the obsession you talk about came into play later when they were teens, and her family started pressuring her into this marriage.
But it seems to me that he is just also purely attracted to her as a woman.

I feel you, with everything that's been going on in the world since 2020 I'd rather watch only HE.
But I can still stomach some SE if they make sense, what I can't tolerate is angst and tragedy for the sake of it.
That said for SOPG I will be veeeeery angry if it's not a HE, after everything they've gone through.

It seems that they (producers, directors, actors) think a SE will leave a longer lasting impression on viewers.
Even LYN said something similar in an interview.

For some of these drama a SE was to be expected.
FoF pretty much declared a SE with all its trailers even before they started airing it.
I only watched the first few episodes, but I might finish watching it after TSOPG.
Love of Nirvana, I mean, if Landi Li + Ren Jianlun didn't spell tragedy enough, from the very first episode you hear several people wishing the male lead a painful death 😂.
I stopped watching it around ep 18, not because of SE, but because I couldn't tolerate the sml any longer. And it was obvious where they were going to go, and then I watched the last episode.
KMLM also had serious SE vibes from the trailers. Not surprised it had a SE. I checked out the first ep, but since I still have to finish the Double, two revenge stories with the same female lead are a bit too much for me.

If you are ok with a contemporary drama for a mature audience I suggest Will Love in Spring, it's been my favourite this year.

If you're talking about love how we all think of it, obviously that's not the case for him.
But this is the only type of love he will ever be capable of feeling.
I am persuaded he has been crushing on her since childhood.
But first comes his being validated by his father, it's the same for her too, so no matter what kind of feelings he might harbor for her, she will always come second.

I actually think he does love her, but in a very toxic way, being him the devious man he is.
Plus his agenda comes first.
Otherwise he wouldn't have been that affected by realizing that she's just using him.
But I agree that they think themselves so smart, while they aren't at all.
Their judgement is always clouded by their eagerness to fastly achieve their goals, and their misplaced hatred.
They are similar in this respect, they always wanted to prove themselves to their fathers to become the heir, but they were never going to achieve it no matter what.
Because in their fathers' eyes they will never be worthy, he's a concubine's son, and she's a woman.
Not fair reasons to be pushed down? That's right, so why don't you hate your despicable fathers?

I will very much enjoy their demise.
They're so despicable and foolish, I would normally find this kind of characters frustrating to watch, and instead I enjoy their scenes.
The one I truly hate is XN, oh how am I waiting to see him gone for good.

The cast of this show is great, it's such a pity that they rushed a few things.
When you have to make many things happen, and don't have enough screen time to convincingly devolop them, either you make too simplistic choices, or you be creative about it. They went with the former unfortunately.

😂😂😂 How did you manage to quote Over the Rainbow? Your recaps are so funny!

I get what you're saying.
And if this was real life, and there was no poligamy, I would totally choose ZJR too.
But no matter how good a character is, if they're going to make the woman their concubine I can't really root for them.
It's one of my triggers XD

I don't think there is a right or wrong decision in this situation.
From one hand I agree that nobody should ever deny another person the right to make their own decisions.
But he's dying, he thinks that most probably he won't have enough time to complete his plan, should he leave her to face their enemies alone once he's gone?
It's a very difficult choice to make.

Did anyone get Love of Nirvana induced ptsd from today's episode?
For a moment I had to remind myself that this wasn't the last episode. XD

The thing is she was lost from the very beginning.
You can draw a parallel between her and Duan Wu, both were fighting against a world that thinks nothing of a woman's life.
But while DW, no matter how much she went through, was still able to empathize with others, and help them, CSJ was totally fine with what was done to all the slaves in the pearl farm, not to mention what was done to the female slaves in particular.

So we can feel sorry for her because the world was merciless to her just because she's a woman. But was she even remotely merciful to other women in a way worse situation than hers?

Plus, I agree with @hellorosy on this, she has always been impulsive and reckless , making the wrong decisions.

So sorry, but not really sorry.
But the actress is great, I'ma liking her very much.

If Duan Wu marries ZJR it will only be as a concubine, because he comes from a prominent family, and will have to marry a noble lady as his legitimate wife.
When asked if he was ready to have her even if it meant making her a concubine he never rebuked.
That's why I never want Duan Wu to end up with him.
Plus their values and views do not align.
Nobody should change who they are to please someone else, and that is true for both DW and ZJR.
In the end as much as ZJR is not the right man for DW, DW also is not the right woman for him.
I hope he will find his soulmate in the drama.

I like ZJR, he should be your stereotypical honest to a fault scholar, who's super naive and easily falls prey to the evil guys.
And he is a bit naive to a certain extent, but he is not foolish, he can actually see through people's schemes and true colors.
He is not weak as he may seem to be.
He has been blind to Prince Ying true nature, but you can't help it with people who are really dear to your heart.
And he has also projected an ideal woman image on DW, that is not true to her nature and desires.
But aside from these "faults" he is a very nice character.

I think you're right, but also she said she used to work in this industry, and she kinda praised herself in the past. Seeing how she doesn't work in the industry anymore, I always get the feeling that there's also some kind of personal vendetta in her rants.

Even more so for them who come from a very humble background, and don't have a safety net since their families were wiped out.
They are at a disadvantage from the start, so they need to be prepared to face any kind of situation if they want to survive and gain some kind of serenity and freedom, at least to a certain extent.

That was a huge mistake indeed, let's see what will happen now.

They paid attention to the tiny details, and I really appreciated it.
I do not honestly watch that many dramas, but I don't remember seeing anything similar to this in the other ones I watched.
Aside from the fact that both leads seem to be very hardworking persons, and very dedicated to their job, maybe the fact that they're friends irl might have helped with the skinship part.

In ep 23 the moment she grabbed Shrimp's hand, unable to let him go toward the light I found myself crying, it hadn't happened to me in a long while.
But I think this scene resonates with everyone who's lost a beloved one, how we can only meet them in our dreams, and how we are reluctant to wake up/let go of the dream once awaken.

I'm finally caught up.

👏👏👏
Exactly, they didn't foolishly fall in love at first sight, which I really appreciated.
He gets her, he sees his past self in her, he admires her resilience, wits, and strong will, and how she was still able to maintain a caring and compassionate heart even in the darkest reality.
Everytime he tries to push her down as a form of keeping her from going down a very dangerous path, she bounces back, maturing and learning bit by bit and winning him over in the process.
He helped her growth, and taught her everything he knew.
We can all agree that he used a very harsh, cruel, and at times violent method, but that's the only way he knows.
He wants to help her stand on her own two feet in a merciless world without relying on anyone, even him.
And that's the reason why she fell in love with him instead of the seemingly ideal man who is ZJR.
ZJR believes in fairytales, he isn't able to see the whole truth, and wants to confine her in a backyard as his concubine, which is another form of imprinsonment, when she told him from the very beginning that freedom is her greatest desire.
The hunting scene was very telling, while ZJR wants to catch game for her, YZJ teaches her how to get it herself.