Tibbs

Yeah I noticed. I think the drama delved a bit on this in episode 4 as a way to explain why he would be so intrigued by a stranger that he would risk several years of his life to save her, and why he is obsessed with 'freeing her'. I think it is simply passed a crush at this point, it can be rightly termed an obsession because he has spent several years of his high school, college and working life on this problem and is yet to find a solution.

I’m done. No offense to lovers of the drama. I watched the drama with an open mind and got up to episode 9, I just can’t continue. The pacing, the heavy melancholic vibe, the constant flashbacks to the past, the slow plodding pace of the drama… is just killing me. I’ve had enough. Hope that love it continue to enjoy the drama, but for me personally, it’s more hype than substance.

What a sad start about the bird and the tree! How they both suffered! And how much they each had to endure! I hope it isn’t a foreshadowing of RanRan and AZan’s future.

The OSTs for this drama are some of the best songs I’ve heard recently. I love eac and every single track.

I don't think Chai An had much hate. Most of the dislike is reserved for the 1st sister's husband, the 2nd sister's husband and some for the 5th sister's husband.

Exactly. A little conversation would have gone a long way. He left dejected without guidance. He could have died at sea! In fact, he almost did. Then would they have been patting themselves on the back if he didn't make it back alive?

Correct on all points!

Yeah. To be fair it seems that different arcs had different writers. I can't imagine that the same person who wrote an arc as wholesome and respectful as the 4th sister's romance, that would turn around and write the 5th sister's drivel. It's like that part was written by a sadistic misandrist. Coupled with the second sister's dominance over her husband (constantly twisting his ear, hitting and slapping him) and the third sister antics which the husband finds funny, but I find questionable ( like kicking him out of the carriage or bedroom when she's displeased with him) makes me question some of these scenes. Smh. I guess I don't see the humor in violence.

Exactly!

Exactly my point! What is marriage, if not sharing the ups and downs of life together? So it’s okay to divorce your husband because he had a major setback? If all marriages were like that no one would stay married! Yes, the Li family helped him by giving him money, but in such a dirty way without giving him the dignity of which he was due. Sometimes, it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it. Sitting him down and explaining why he should go to sea to make his fortune, is far better than tricking and humiliating him. For this the Li family has no defense. YianXian suffered so much and improved so greatly. But what character development did LeShan have? None. Because her family took away the opportunity for her to grow. She was still headstrong, stubborn, petty, violent and retaliatory. Was it really necessary for her husband to arrive in a sedan chair knocked out and tied up? If I didn’t know better, I would say LeShan’s arc was written by a man hater because of all the unnecessary stress they put YianXian through.

Hilarious! Thanks for posting this!

Yeah it crossed into bullying instead of tough love. Hard to watch.

Exactly! He was already putting in great effort alongside his family to earn money. Think how hard they worked to earn a living in that shabby house. He wasn’t squandering his money. He even took charge of his family’s behavior and they were working together cohesively as a family. Think how much better their arc would have been without the interference from her sisters and their husbands. If they had allowed her to stay married to him while he earned a living and they made a life of their own. Instead her family decided that because she’s their baby, she shouldn’t suffer with her husband and they came up with a scheme to cheat and humiliate him and send him to sea. What if he had died there? Isn’t marriage supposed to be for richer, for poorer? I don’t know what kind of message the drama was trying to send in Leshan’s arc. But it really made me despise the Li family for what they did. And they never showed what happened to his family after that. Did they disappear into thin air? I’m thinking that the drama was filmed for 40 episodes, but because of censorship, it only got approved for 36 episodes and major cutting had to be done leading to huge plot holes and a semi-coherent head scratching ending. It wouldn’t surprise me if I learned that the brother’s arc was reduced to fewer episodes for this reason as well.

Interesting.

My favorite romance is really the 4th sister’s romance. It’s wholesome, relatable, realistic without extremes that characterizes her sisters’ courtships.

Next favorite romance, surprisingly is the brother’s. Although the drama didn’t dwell on his romance for very long.

But my favorite couple is the 5th sister and her reformed rascal. I absolutely adore her husband, I think he’s so good to her. I would have called their romance arc my favorite but for the excessive violence that marred their courtship, and the dirty tricks that her family played on him- giving him the carrot, then the stick. Urging her to divorce him because he had no prospects and encouraging her to reunite with him, when he came back successful. Smh.

My least favorite romance is the first sister’s arc, it went on for too long . I still find her too cold and controlling for my taste. But my least favorite sister is KangNing - I really can’t stand her manipulation and calculativeness.

Chai An was never the head - he’s married to the 3rd sister after all. If there’s a head it would be Du Yangxin - it’s just that Chai An is more outspoken and assertive than the rest of his bros.

I believe ‘Niang’ means birth mother, and ‘Muchin’ is a more formal term given to a woman in the position of a mother, may not necessarily mean birth mother, could be a stepmom, adopted mom etc cmiiw.

She’s not a mind reader. He has to vocalize what he’s going through to his partner, and she needs to do the same. They both should stop hiding things from each other.

Honestly, seeing how he treated Ranran about that school bullying issue, I’m not surprised she hates him that much. Probably afraid he would gloat at her funeral.

Yeah, but I suspect she doesn’t want him to know she’s going blind which is why she’d rather break up with him than tell him the truth. And his trip back to the Eastern Country has provided the perfect excuse.

How?

I don’t understand why she is being clingy? She dealt with her eye problems without burdening him with it. She only called him when she thought she would lose her mother.

She doesn’t know he’s undergoing psychological trauma because he doesn’t tell her. Maybe because the timing was never right? But she can’t make allowances for his needs if he doesn’t vocalize them. She can’t read his mind.