Silmarien

The suspicious looks the police give Eun Hyeok because..his phone rings?
The suspicious looks they give each other because..the yacht was repaired? Because whoever brought it to be repaired had the keys to it? Almost like the fiance died cartoon-style, crushed by a falling yacht engine. Or the FL rigged a Jigsaw like propeller trap for the fiance, lol.

All this tension is unearned, especially for the police that's been bumbling in the dark, hyper focused on the FL. Oh, you say the victim was last seen with this billionaire? Who gives a shit. What about this random dude that this other random dude told us about, that's apparently connected with the FL? Yeah, now that's an avenue worth pursuing. I mean, maybe they're intentionally written as doing as poor a job as possible, but with the editing and the way it's filmed, I doubt it.

Then again, except for ancillary characters, every single other character has nothing else going on in their lives except an interest or obsession for the FL so there's that.

So many narrative threads and questions and just 1 has been answered by the midway mark. And that's if you believe FL's story about her parents.

Well of course it's a problem on my part, I just don't like it. Not for lack of understanding, I get the common thread.
I don't really like the way the characters are written nor the framing.

But that's ok. Different folks, different strokes and all that. :)

Lmao, Dora the investigator indeed :)))

I do too, which is why I was excited for this one, but so far..I don't like a single character. And they're not bad but complex and interesting, they're just..either frustrating or inconsequential.

Ohh, hmm. Flew over my head entirely, I'll have to go back and check.

Also..wouldn't it be funny if the mastermind was the bar chick and the motive was keeping the clientele to her failing business? Lol, she only ever has Seol A as a client so

While watching the latest episode, I found myself wondering: "What exactly is this seemingly jobless, but also employed INSURANCE agent investigating? The gallery suicide? Seol A's past relationships? Her parents' death? The perfect location to open a profitable bar in Seoul?"

In between his bouts of stalking and nosing around the FL's business, talking to all her acquaintances that spill everything like he's her priest taking confession, I decided this show might just not be for me.

The story is interesting, but the framing is, frankly, annoying and poorly done. Not to mention the hefty suspension of disbelief needed if this goes the romance route because point me towards a woman who'd fall for the man who dogged her like she personally brought upon the apocalypse down on humanity.

I'll stick around for the halftime mark and decide then, I guess.

Man, Snow Kong's acting makes the character of Qi Min aaaabsolutely revolting and I'm loving it. Well, that and his despicable actions. But I don't think I've felt such disgust for a villain in a Cdrama in a long while and it's mostly because Qian Qian is so genuinely terrified of him.

Right on the money from the show's writing perspective, but then again it's also one of my all time pet peeves. How two people in a situation like this are totally blind to the others' feelings. Like one would cry for you, cry about you leaving, protect you at any step, kiss you - they did share one, show concern/care/interest/gentleness/cater to your every need, but nope, they're completely uninterested romantically. You're just really good bros, yeah. She tells him to stay, he tells her to go with him, they have eo's backs in everything. Conclusion? This person must definitely be thinking about their next marriage candidate, yep, totes. Makes my eyes roll every single time. :D

At this point, I consider it a small miracle that she hasn't told him to f*ck off in a firm manner and that he hasn't tried to pin world hunger or something like that on her.

All of this. I love the way Zhao's character is written. No matter how much she loves him, she knows better than to trade the world for a relationship and she stuck to those guns beginning to end - so far.

Plus, as you said, my guy doesn't exactly have a good track record; he continually manipulates and lies to her. Yeah, he does have feelings for her, but he also schemes and uses her and tries to keep her in the dark, hoping that feeling will trump her sense of fairness when she inevitably figures things out. He may love her, but he never listens to her nor love her the way she needs it, so far.

Oh! I've actually given up on Youthful Glory a couple of days ago. Started out strong and then become such a drag, I couldn't stand her character. If I wasn't familiar with the genre, I'd think another writer came in and started working on the script halfway through or something.

So yeah, agree. I was unconvinced with her role there too.

This is neither here nor there, but during ML's short monologue about the rain, I couldn't help but think of Anakin and his vendetta against sand 😂😂. Sand gets in everywhere, water is wet, rain is damp.

Not to say that the dialogue is bad, it just popped into my head and had me laughing for a good 10 minutes.

I was gonna say this ^. I haven't seen the two dramas mentioned, but her first one has her portray a character similar to the FL here and she seems to do well with this archetype.

I can't imagine her in a more cutesy, damsel in distress type of role though.

What I really love is that their personalities make sense within the world of the show, they're not just because the scriptwriter wanted angst. She's young, opinionated, with a strong sense of justice and immense respect for her aunt. It makes sense she'll always stand up for what she believes is right, even though she might not always personally like it - see the betrothal that came from her aunt.

And our ML, bless him, is always a cough away from dying every other episode haha so it makes sense that he's much more reckless and given to following desires, not logic.

I think she's always been aware, but whereas he's emotional, she's much more cerebral. Not sure if she's actually timid - except when it comes to kisses heh - but she understands what choosing him versus the Six Sects and her aunt's legacy will mean for her. She's unwilling to give all that up to live in a gilded cage, regardless of how much she loves him.

I find it such an interesting parallel to the older generation and looking forward to see how they do things differently. Let's be honest, the older couple weren't exactly ..a healthy, willing one lol. He kept trapping her until she ran out of options and had no other recourse but to stay with him in the underground place, feelings notwithstanding.

Right now, history seems to be repeating itself with ML's manipulations and FL's resolve to go back to her place. Am especially looking forward to how they fight to change the entire system and perception of the demon sect, assuming that's where the story's heading.

Right? I was excusing her character because the system does work against her, too.
But then I remember that not only she almost let another person die for her benefit, but her latest act, ripping the clothes designs, had literally no excuse or reason. She did it because she's petty, hateful, insecure, and jealous.

Haha, yes, that's exactly what I wanted to say. You couldn't pay me to bow my head and say "sorry" after you've personally ransacked my apartment like the DEA going for a drug bust and found something you consider unsavory. Next time get your grubby little paws away from my things, how about that.

But I'm frustrated WITH them, not at the show, so all good. Of course, spawn of Satan Feng Lin better get hers soon or else ...

I love the drama, but it's also an exercise in patience and zen for me, dear lord.
Everyone with access to your meager room, hopes and dreams? Don't worry, there's a perfectly placed as*hole to dash them or rip them apart.
Married couple intimacy? Who dis, new phone.
But that's how you know a show got it right, when it takes you through the wringer one way or another and makes you feel.

My pleasure. Enjoy if you do end up watching :)