Sharlotka

I feel like I say it about a lot of dramas but I have such incredibly mixed feelings after finishing this drama.

On one hand, I really liked the way Rong Shanbao was presented as the heiress of her family - recognising that their strength lies in unity and gradually making her sisters see that as well; standing up to her grandmother; even burning down the tree as a kind of symbol of getting rid of the old ways. Especially her attitude towards the elders and tradition was something that I really enjoyed; perhaps because I really disliked the grandmother. Respect towards elders is probably an universal thing, but the grandmother was the perfect example of why it shouldn’t be ‘owed’ but ‘deserved’ and ‘earned’. If one deserves respect, it will come naturally.

At the same time, her attitude towards Lu Jianglai is something I really can’t get behind and a part of me would have preferred not to get a happy ending for them as a couple. I enjoyed the scene when he speaks about how she had been planning to leave from the start, wanted to get rid of him, etc. and if I were to choose, I’d leave him right there - recognising that the way she treated him is not right. I understand that at the beginning of the drama, she was distrustful of him, it makes perfect sense but by the last episode, I’d have expected the relationship to have grown, for trust to be in place, etc. and I don’t see that. Why can’t she just be direct and/or honest with him, instead of constantly hiding things?

That said, the whole capital plot was completely unnecessary in my eyes. I’d rather they had all stayed in Linji, and instead of 5-6 episodes focused on characters that I don’t even care about, I’d rather have gotten those 5-6 episodes focused on showing how the lives settle for other sisters. At least the plot between the 5th sister and the scholar got some kind of closure, and yes I know that they mentioned other sisters, it’s not quite the same as showing these things.

I enjoyed this drama for the most part, some plots more than the others. It definitely had great potential at the start and they used some of it, but also ruined others. I guess you can’t have everything.

I still have 2 episodes to go and Viki is killing me with 1 episode a day, but I can't really see the bigger point of the whole capital plot with Lu Jianglai's biological family. Is that really necessary? If he is to have a happy ending with Rong Shanbao, then I really can't see the point. Unless he is going to end up staying in the capital...

Still, I would rather see more about how things settle down in the Rong family, how the plot for all the sisters is going to end. For me, the only thing this whole capital plot accomplishes so far is showing that Rong Shanbao appears to have no character development in terms of her treatment of Lu Jianglai, and the guy kinda deserves better than how she's treating him...

Viki only has 1 episode today? T___T

Grandma complaining about being deceived and all... As if she was willing to listen to anything anyone had to say that didn't align with her view of things. Perhaps, instead of blaming everyone around, start from looking at yourself.

What was that scene of Lu Jianglai looking terrified? I completely don't understand it...

And Rong Shanbao, what a loving daughter you are towards your father lol I bet there has to be more in the capital plot, I wonder what it's going to be.

I knew the Yan guy was suspicious from the start. And poor real Yan Bailuo. Although, I can't help but love to see everything that annoys the Grandmother lol She is such an unlikeable character... Yunxi deciding to go against her was such an enjoyable scene. I hope we see more scenes like this from other sisters.

I am very pleasantly surprised by the daughter of Lu Jianglai's teacher. I was worried she'll end up being the usual 'poor girl, left all alone, begging the ML to marry her because that was her father's wish' and I'm happy to see she doesn't appear to be that.

I only wonder, how many more secret plots we still have waiting for us lol

I haven't seen 28 either, I watch on Viki and it only has up to 27 right now. I'm not sure what you mean exactly by what happened but unless it's an act too, she's shown what she's really like.

I had a feeling Bai Yingsheng was not actually genuinely working with the Jiang guy, and it's nice to see he was actually working with Rong Shanbao. He didn't seem like the kind of guy to take such a drastic turn. Resentment is one thing but murdering people just to get revenge on a woman is a bit extreme.

The tree burning down was nice, too. I like the symbolism behind it - the old ways of the family being destroyed, and the Rongs turning over a new leaf (pun completely unintended lol).

Looking forward to the confrontation between Lu Jianglai and Rong Shanbao; she really kept him in the dark about her actual plan didn't she lol

So many people are dying left and right, why can't any of the murderers do a favour to everyone and kill the Grandmother... At least FL finally spoke her mind, definitely earned a lot of points with me for that.

I still don't trust Yan Bailuo. Almost 2/3 into the drama, I wonder when we're going to learn his true intentions...

And is the 5th sister actually able to see? Now, that would be an interesting twist.

That's true, it was as if watching a different thing. They went for lots of shooting, explosions and 'action', and completely away from what made this drama truly great. And while in most of the episodes, it looked like they did their best to research things and make them believable, in the final few episodes they just threw it all away and made such obvious mistakes... Not to the extent that would ruin my enjoyment of it, but it didn't quite match with what we were presented with at first.

Why do I feel like the Grandmother, who should have the family's best interest at heart, actually seems to act like it's the exact opposite? Surely, it would make the family better and stronger and everything if it was united, the sisters supporting each other rather than competing and being constantly at odds... The further I get into the drama, the more I dislike her...

I'm not sure to what extent it can be trusted but according to Baidu Baike, it was filmed between September and December 2024.

I think I read somewhere in the comments here that the original script was written a few years ago so my guess would be that the script was written with these dates and they decided to keep them.

Based on this calendar that someone posted in the gallery, they will start releasing the remaining episode on the 13th https://i.mydramalist.com/5vDbvB_3f.jpg

Episode 21

For a moment there, I was worried that Qi Sizhe actually believed what the teacher was saying, and I’m so so glad that he did not. I’d be really unhappy if he actually bought all the lies, but I was pretty sure by the time he began to ask about the wife.

A part of me is wondering what made them think it’s a good idea to send Han Feng there, when he was also involved in the original drug operation, so if that is basically a continuation of what was happening back then, isn’t it only to be expected that there will be people involved, who were there in the past, and would recognise him? Counting on the hope that it’s not the case feels a bit weird to me but perhaps they figured it was worth the risk?

Another bit of complaint - if the guy gave Han Feng the drug, even if Qi Sizhe gave them what they needed to perfect the formula and it worked fine, shouldn’t he be under its influence? Meanwhile, he was shown completely and perfectly fine. My knowledge about drugs is limited, I’ll admit that, but it doesn’t quite make sense to me? Unless I missed something.

And, of course, there’s also the fact that they didn’t even so much as show Zhu Qingyue in this episode. In fact, for a moment there, I was worried that they forgot about her completely so was quite relieved when the fact that there’s one more person came up in the conversation, but why not show her properly reunite with the team?

The conversation between Qi Sizhe and Han Feng at the cemetery was great. They gave us closure but also left the door open for if there ever was a chance for more. The two definitely went quite a way, from open hostility to friendly banter and sillyness.

Overall, outside of these complaints, it was a really great drama. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a crime/police series as much as I enjoyed this one, and it used to be my absolute favourite genre. I may have come here because of Luo Yunxi and he definitely delivered, but other actors did an amazing job, too. The soundtrack was also great, and of course, the story kept me on my toes and delivered very enjoyable twists.

The year has only just begun and I already have a feeling it’ll be difficult for any title I watch for the rest of the year to top this one. It deserves way more attention than it is getting, and I hope it will end up appreciated.

Yes, I believe with the "one more person" they meant Zhu Qingyue. It was her hospital bed that they showed, I just wished they showed her reuniting with the team, too...

Episode 18

Qi Sizhe reacting to Chen Chuchuan’s death…The flashbacks and all. $h*t happened but at the end of the day, they had been friends for a pretty long time. It’s interesting that it was ok for him to perform the autopsy.

I liked the emotions that were shown during the episodes by all of the actors, really, especially during lao Wan’s funeral.

And now, I can’t help feeling a little lost - based on the previous scenes, I was under the impression that Yu Fei knew Qi Sizhe before she decided to be a forensic pathologist and he partially encouraged her to become one. Now, it seems like they met only when she began to attend classes, and he actually knew Han Feng first, somehow? Or maybe I just misunderstood the scenes.


Episode 19

Zhu Qingyue has a pretty good aim if she was able to shoot that motorbike from such a distance lol And then, they can’t hit the guy from much shorter distance lol

Oh you better have her recover from this! We’ve lost enough people as it is! But, they really did her dirty by that, basically taking her away from the case and getting her injured. She should have been right there, chasing everyone with the others.


Episode 20

Qi Sizhe, why are you going everywhere on your own?! What if the teacher reacted differently, and decided to attack you or something?

At least you had the others know what you are doing later. That said, shouldn’t they keep a bigger distance from his car? It’s not suspicious at all that they start moving as soon as Qi Sizhe’s car starts moving… And did they seriously put the tracker in his watch? It’s so obvious they’re going to check if he has anything that they can track him by…

Also, Qi Sizhe, come on… It’s like, #1 obvious thing - if they let you see their faces and all that, they have no intention on letting you go alive. I still suspect the teacher at this point. I don’t buy the story he gave Qi Sizhe, and he’s presenting himself as a victim while he’s also the perfect person to get what they need from Qi Sizhe.

On to the last episode, but figured I’ll get these thoughts out before as I imagine I may have a lot more to say after the final ep.

No problem! I'm 6 hours ahead of you, so it'll be 9am for you when I get around to the episodes, so I'll let you know :)

I'll be watching after work, so - unless life throws something at me that I need to take care of first - I'll get to watching in about 6 hours :) So I know nothing yet :)

Yeah, that's exactly why I was confused because that's just not how things work and even I know that. But it's good to know it wasn't just me losing my mind :)

Do you mean a scene with Chen Chuchuan? I was a bit confused about where he was actually stabbed because at first, I thought his leg but then he started to choke blood, so I figured perhaps I just saw incorrectly, and then he was stumbling out of the car as if it had been his leg. Or do you mean something else? Because that's what caught my attention but I may as well have been super confused about that scene and missed something different (I'm not a scientist in any way and biology/chemistry have always been my absolute worst subjects at school so I'm likely to buy anything they say and show lol).

I agree. So far, I've mostly seen Luo Yunxi in costume dramas and this is definitely a very different role compared to them but I really like his performance here. All of the actors, really, do a very good job.

And I agree, it can at times be painful to watch when someone isn't able to perform emotions well. It's a skill (or talent) for sure, I would actually make a terrible actress and wouldn't be able to do that, and it's actually something that has spoilt my enjoyment of some of the dramas, at least to an extent. That said, my experience (mostly with western shows but also those in my country etc) is that I tend to root for doomed couples if I root for any in the first place. A friend used to laugh at me that if I end up rooting for any couple, it's 100% certain that one of them is dying at the end of the season. So perhaps it's a good thing when I don't root for any couples hahaha.

Well, he didn't deliberately intend to kill either of the two, that for sure. He is not a black and white character but his actions, his attitude just doesn't make me feel sorry. I looked at the actor's filmography and apparently, the only thing he acted in that I watched is FoF... I have completely not made the connection lol

And to be honest, I really like the dynamics as it is. Group of friends, family by choice in a way. I'm quite happy that there's no romance between the characters and I wouldn't change it. They go from not knowing each other all that well at the start of the series, to the dynamics that we have now and I wouldn't change it :)