Megan

To an actress, this will just be part of the job. That's like calling surgeon's out for looking at multiple naked bodies in a day, massage therapists for touching multiple bodies a day, etc. When you have a professional mindset it's not sexy, it's just work.

Mechanically, they are kissing. Mentally, they are performing. They need to look a certain way, convey the character's emotions, hit the timing right for movements, etc. And then do that multiple times so it can be filmed multiple ways, trying to be as close to identical each time.

Since the actress has zero actual romantic relationship with either actor, I imagine that unless she's had a lot of acting jobs with kiss scenes and has gotten used to this aspect of the job (I'm not super familiar with her work), she probably felt super awkward the entire time.

I'm pretty sure it was Lee Joon Gi, when asked about how he films such exciting kissing films, said it's because he isn't focused on kissing the actress. He knows viewers want to see him look beautiful during the kiss scene, so he is paying attention to keeping clean lines and a beautiful face during the scene, not trying to kiss well. I thought that answer was brilliant.

There's really no reason to "slut shame" an actress for doing her job professionally. Since there's no romantic relationships in real life, and no sexual enjoyment while doing the kissing, it's cruel and unfair to the actress. No one will make you watch if it makes you uncomfortable.

I did like IANAR. I like this one too.

It doesn't bother me that he's a robot since this is science fiction. He's supposed to be sophisticated enough of a robot to be able to learn to be more human. Ultimately, if he has subroutines that run to create emotions without his intentionally triggering them, I don't see that as being significantly different from chemicals and hormones we subconsciously release to create emotions.

But I get it. If it doesn't work for you, it doesn't work for you. I mean, I also know people that couldn't stand IANAR because he thought he was falling in love with a robot and it didn't matter that she was really human. He preferred falling for a (safe) robot. That was a big turn off for some. My biggest issue was the hideous risk they took with his health. How many times could that man have been killed? It was dfl that she was the one special magic person in the world whose touch wouldn't kill him. I was SO glad that she was properly horrified when she found out! If she had blown it off, I'd have had to drop that show.

Talented actors in both shows.

I like both about the same. Both flawed in their own ways, but also both have their strengths.

Thanks for the reply! Maybe I'll give a shot.

I was wondering if I wanted to try the show despite not liking and dropping the novel. I dropped it because Xia Yao was incompetent (based on his given credentials) and Yuan Zong was creepy (in all ways). It was painful. I was wondering if the show reduced either of these problems?

Having read enough transmigration/stuck-in-a-game/stuck-in-a-novel etc books, I also kinda decided I was going with the idea they were both in the game. I wonder how long he was looking for his new assistant? I actually would have loved a scene with him flipping through resumes or something and stumbling across her. That would have sealed the deal on this ending for me. Whether it is what the writers were intending or not, it's the story I'm going with!

I'm actually on Part 2, but wanted to comment here for people just getting started.

The show underutilizes the whole in-a-game aspect after the first few episodes. She burns through her lives pretty quickly, but then continues to act like there are no consequences to her actions. She also stops analyzing the situations like they are game scenarios. I do like the heroine, but I don't love any of the love interests (except maybe the sword dude).

I don't mind cheesiness, since it is consistently all cheese, but there are sooooo many flashbacks. Laying pretty heavy on the ffwd button. I don't plan to drop it, at least not yet, because I do like the FL. Just a little disappointed that there isn't more done with the idea of being in the game (I read a ton of those novels, ya'll!).

My only sadness is that Yeon Jung Hoon didn't have a single scene with Lee Won Jong. They were partners in Vampire Prosecutor. I really wanted to see them together again! LOL.

I liked him well enough. I found him convincing since I didn't feel like his character was was supposed to be particularly passionate. Personally, I was underwhelmed by the FL. She did well at being vulnerable, but not much else.

haha. I noticed the whispering thing too.

It's so much like a trashy novel, I double checked the summary to see if it mentioned being based on a book. Because I'd read that book. LOL.

I found the plot moved along quickly. Something was always being revealed. It wasn't necessarily 'flashy', but it didn't drag.

Episodes 7&8 were mostly annoying. It was good again by 9. Last 2 episodes were also terrible. Moei wasn't the anxious type, so keeping her in the dark about a medical condition was stupid. She couldn't make good, healthy choices for herself. Later his chain of voice messages about being interested in her first was totally unbelievable. How could he not recognize that terrible haircut? She clearly had that haircut when he told her to stay away from him in school and she agreed for snacks. We clearly saw his journey into falling in love with Moei, which was lovely. He was also an idiot when he was trying to stay married to her and not telling her he loved her. It really was his own fault that it all blew up. He wanted to just go back to how things were before. So I really liked his figuring out how to love her in a non-selfish way. Not telling her about her medical condition and the voice messages just set him back (from my American perspective). I'm glad I watched it, but it's like the nursery rhyme: There was a little girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead. And when she was good, she was very, very good. But when she was bad, she was horrid.

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They did some fun things with role-reversals, but without sacrificing masculinity or feminity or turning it into a farcical joke. It was just part of their dynamic. Like her doing a wrist grab and escorting him to the car and putting him 'safely' into the driver's seat.

Episode 7: I'm so annoyed at Thien. I understand that it would be upsetting that 3 people lied to him, but honestly, I think he's more embarrassed than hurt. He doesn't like that someone he always looked down on is actually very capable. He would have done the same thing in a heart beat and felt justified. Meanwhile, he DID catch her, so it's not like he's an idiot. He lied to her several times and treated her poorly, but that was OK in his mind. In the beginning when it was clearly a dog/cat personality match up, I enjoyed his personality, but the last few episodes he has just been a jerk as opposed to feline. Meanwhile, I am confused why she didn't just tell him the truth after he caught her. She could've avoided going into Thada's company and catching the devil's interest.

End of rant. Lol. Now back to the show!

I was on the fence, but you had me with, "Every relationship has some misunderstandings and fights but they got over theirs maturely." I literally have a list called 'Using Our Words Like Adults.' So that's obviously an appealing characteristic in a show for me. Thanks for taking the time to write this review!

I'm only 3 episodes in so far, but I love that she is as chaotic as all his friends. Lol.

I really hated the last two episodes where everyone pretended together that the ML was disfigured and crippled for life in order to force Pom into saying she loves him. What kind of messed up BS is that? In the last 10 minutes he does a lovely confession. He could have saved himself, and us, a lot of time by doing that in the first place. Why does she have to tell him she loves him first? She clearly said to him that she didn't read his letter (although we know she did), so he should act like she doesn't know he said 'I love you'. He should have manned-up and confessed his feelings for her right then and there. Apologized for being an a-hole and not knowing how to express himself and giving her no reason to believe he had feelings for her. Ask if he can court her sincerely and give her reasons to trust him. He was always tricking her. I wouldn't have felt safe at that time saying 'I love you' to him. I'd be afraid he'd lord it over me and celebrate getting me to fall for him when it was all a big lie. I'd need time for him to build the trust. Just ugh. If you are invested in Paen/Chai relationship you can fast-forward through the last two episodes, otherwise, just skip to the last 7 minutes of the final episode.

You bring up some good points.

I'm only on ep 7. I feel bad for the SFL and hope her situation improves. I hope she has more character growth. Right now I feel like she only wants the ML back because her choice turned out poorly. I don't think she would be feeling the same way if her husband was nice or if the ML wasn't famous now. I don't think he owes her a second chance. I mean, the ML stuck by her in a secret relationship for 6 YEARS and she chose to marry this guy after 3 MONTHS. Even outside the betrayal, that's a pretty sharp indicator of where he stood in her list of priorities.

I'm glad we aren't going to see her turn psycho-ex. ALWAYS a refreshing choice. It super weirds me out in dramas when an ex shows up after years apart and is like, "OK, we should be together now. You liked me SO much before." People change over time.

I'm keeping my eye on the factory guy now. LOL.