Shrimpy

Not done yet. The most important thing are the TV ratings and we have two more days to go. The current CVB average is 1.076 which is excellent (everyone dreams of breaking 1, that is the goal for big names). WDB was higher, 1.5+ but the hockey storyline really killed this (lots of antis who attack this drama should remember their faves have 0.1 on theirs). Still, even with all this trouble, that it is holding above that milestone of 1 is amazing. It's about to get a rerun on CCTV 1 from September 18th so that should tell you enough. Cross your fingers that it stays above one, just 2 more days.

Everyone is hugely complimentary of XZ's acting, SY as a character from modern drama is top, etc. That he was on CCTV again, and is about to repeat with the rerun really helps his visibility but the ratings also show they like him a lot because the second he shows up, they go up. So while it could have been better, people also have unrealistic expectations of him, usually because they have other, unpleasant agendas. This drama, despite all the problems, is actually doing great 🤞

Probably not! Tibetan Sea is all set up already, just waiting and since he is all out of stock , next year is probably going to be tiring.

I am so torn with this one. I cannot pretend the hockey trio doesn't exist because they absolutely lowered the quality of it and disrupted the pacing of the drama. Too many things were crammed into the last quarter while it could have been spread out without them wasting time. Even the last episode was ridiculous due to how much went to anyone but the leads.

On the other hand, there is the absolute delight of SY and JB, and the secondary PR and SC plus Sheng parents. The office plot was excellent. Both XZ and BBH did a great job, had great chemistry and were supported well by this part of the cast.

TL;Dr I have no idea what to rate this.

Members of the illiterate fandom can't tell the difference between IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes while inventing having seen an ending that hasn't been broadcast yet? I suppose it fits.

I was so annoyed by his mother at the beginning of 34 I simply turned it off. Sister? Best friend? What the hell. This interfering in their relationship, it's disgusting to me. I will watch tomorrow when I can simply finish it all together.

What about Douban? If you mean Douban score of this drama, it hasn't been released.

When you run out of decent ideas.

I know it is going to be short so I am enjoying everything from the time they have now. I do wish they actually didn't have any skinship because watching adults behave like 12 yo is ridiculous. If CCTV is that strict then better nothing. Their chemistry is strong enough to push them through anyway.

It's disheartening watching his mother right now. It makes me really angry so I am just enjoying them for what we can. It is going to end up super rushed because they gave up too much time to hockey trio (Fang is in full creep territory now) when they should have been developing their relationship. Typical cdrama. Wish it wasn't just this once because we don't get two main actors so in sync that often.

That is totally fake.

Tags are not genres.

I have certainly watched all his dramas unlike you because if you had, you would have known what genres they were and apart from OOL, they are not romance.

You are going to have to cope with the fact that romance almost always exists in dramas and that it's going to be in his next drama Tibetan Sea and in his next movie, even if neither is romance in terms of genre. Yes, with a woman. Sorry, he won't be fulfilling your gay fetishizing needs.

Neither Ace Troops, Douluo nor Where Dreams Begin are romance, apart from already mentioned TU🤷

The only pure romance drama he has as the ML is OOL. Not sure where you got the "always" from. I suspect the issue is that they contain straight romance but that's a you problem.

I cannot believe it's episode 30 tomorrow and look where we are, both with the leeching hockey trio and tbf, SY's mother. I cringed so hard.

Please have mercy and allow us a measly 6 episodes at the end out of 36 without this. Please.

Yes, they are going to tie them together and start yelling about new Xiao Zhan for the duration of the JOL broadcast. Leech data, leech heat.

That's what this is. They are both Xinli and of course Xinli is the production company for JOL as well. It's to make sure that XZ carries them here into visibility and then they will also use him once JOL2 starts, especially the kid, to leech.

I would have to check again but iirc they get together in either ep 30 or ep 32. The calendar has a heart next to 30 and then the sketchbook next to 32. Still very late.

I absolutely support this!

I think we are supposed to sympathise and we are supposed to understand him. Classic there is no black or white etc. It's why he gets so much screen time and why we have to sit through his conversations with LSS. We are supposed to understand him so that by the end, he can be washed into a good guy and have a HE with LSS.

I would be absolutely ok with him if he were fully shown as a negative but I don't think he is.

Oh yes. I have seen so many men like this and so many women broken by them.

Of course this and other dramas should explore this type of personality except this drama is trying to make him sympathetic. But the only cure for people like this is to cut him out as the cancerous tissue that he is and move on. This weird circle of the three of them is definitely not it.

This drama has 36 episodes. If we have to wait until episode 30 for the main lead to get focus then is he really the main lead?

Xue cheated on her for years.

Now I am supposed to feel sympathetic to him going mentally unstable to the point of grabbing a heavy ashtray and going after Sheng Yang or ranting over Sheng Yang, while he is already tumbling in the sheets with Shan Shan.

There is nothing complex about him. He bedded everything he could, then Jian Bing left him and found a younger, hotter and very into her man and his ego is hurt. He can't take it that she can find someone like that, better than him because in his head, he is God's gift to women and that JB can move on, especially with someone like SY, is infuriating. That he feels superior to her can easily be seen in their work dynamics too. There is nothing complex here, it's just classic man-child behavior.

It's realistic but the drama is showing him in a sympathetic light which is my problem. No, I don't and won't sympathise with a total scumbag.

LSS is just looking after her own self-interest. She wants to keep Xue and is afraid that he will go back to JB so she is pushing her towards SY. There is nothing altruistic in her actions either.

And while we go through detailed psychology make up of both these people, the leads are still getting short-changed. Not my thing 🤷