UnaSpenser

They definitely left things open to interpretation.

Did she just rest and then he took her to an airport where she flew for some advanced treatment? And finally returned after a year?

Or was he just fantasizing and she died in the snow? (Although, that’s not how it would look when someone died from cancer. She would not look perfectly healthy and suddenly get “tired.” ) And why were they lying down in the freezing snow if the Tibetan plateau, anyway? No one would last long doing that. Especially in the clothes they were wearing. lol

Ok. I came back to keep watching, even though I hate the trope of not telling a partner that you have a serious health issue.

This is the first time that I ended up feeling that I understood why she was doing it: she expects to have a short life and she wanted some time and experience that just felt normal after all that she’d been through already, with her parents. She didn’t want that time tainted with him constantly worrying or fussing, as she’d already been suffocated by that with her mom.

Also, I was so pleased with the mom listening to those around her and finding some of her center, again. She had been traumatized by the experience of her husband, and then her daughter’s illness. She was a warrior for her daughter, but it took its toll and she got a little twisted. I can see that being a natural response. What they did better here than in most dramas is that it doesn’t become her permanent state of being. She starts to recover and heel and we start to see her better self. Her conversation with Xiao Han was amazing.

All of the acting in this has been sooooooo good. I’m glad I came back to finish it.

Addicted.

I can’t really recommend the drama. The actors had great chemistry, and each played their roles so well. But the story is one of a very toxic relationship and it was disturbing to see how many people saw it as romantic. Luckily, the drama stopped before the worst of it, in the novel. The novel is just twisted.

However, the use of Trouble I’m In was absolutely perfect for the moment. I learned the song after hearing it there. Sometimes, you can glean good things from sh*tty stories.

The quote on the back is the original. She swapped it out, I'm pretty sure.

this is the second time I've heard Trouble I'm In used in a really effective way in an Asian drama. Its has such a specific vibe.

they are sisters, but yes, we meet another little girl in the village. she says that her sister is with at her mom's house. so... maybe her mom lives closer to the ML?

curious: the young niece(8 or 10 years old?) shows up at the ML's place, having run away from home. Later, we learn that his hometown is a village in the mountains near the border of Tibet. (look up info on the Qiang) It requires an airplane flight to get there. How did the little girl manage this on her own?

I'm pretty much in agreement. Why would anyone put up with her nonsense? She lies, she's always saying goodbye, and she has no respect for boundaries. When she started going through his stuff I was furious. Also, someone who isn't forthcoming about their life's challenges isn't partner material. She wants to desperately know about his past, but its not relevant to his present. Meanwhile, she's a ticking time bomb and she has forcefully inserted herself into this man's life, knowing that she could relapse and die.

I'll never understand why anyone finds it romantic or a good story to have characters who leave someone who loves them without telling them the truth and, instead, leaving them heartbroken as if they'd been rejected. Its far more damaging to someone's psyche to do that rather than let them go through the natural process of sadness and grief. Why are there so many stories with this plot device? I absolutely loathe it.

Once I realized that she was doing this, i stopped watching.

This drama leaves me with one serious question: is there no such thing as bedside manner in Chinese medicine? Its rather chilling to think that someone would have your life in their hands, but they have no interest in making sure that you have any quality of life while under their care.

Its hard to find decent romantic comedies in CDrama-land. Most of them are over the top with these gross tropes and/or have very weirdly inconsistent characters or totally absurd plot devices. That said, two that I was surprised by were: Be My Princess and Becoming You. (I haven't completed Becoming You, yet, but so far, I think they've done a good, fun job with the body swap bit. Having been done a bunch, that plot device requires really good execution or else it can be full of eyerolls and stupidity. So, far, its pretty well done in Becoming You.) I'm sure there are others, but these popped into my head. (I don't have a good memory for names of things.)

I find that CDramas do better detective and bromance stories than romance. When they leave out the gender dynamics, they can write interesting things. Ancient Detective was pretty light and visually rich, with a fun twist. It has fantasy elements and its goofy and very stylized. It was actually rather mesmerizing and I'm really hoping we see a Season 2, because they dropped a big twist and left a huge question at the end.

I found League of Noblemen to be enjoyable. It has light humor strewn throughout a story that looks at how three people process grief and injustice and the balance between the desire for vengeance vs peace. There is one supporting character who is just the greatest friend. And it was so nice to see that actor get to play an admirable character rather the spoiled jerk he seemed to be getting typecast in before. Anyway, it was worth watching for friendship development.

People have said they really liked My Roommate Is A Detective. I found the lady friend/rich girl to be totally annoying, so I have to see if I can go back and just grit my teeth through her scenes.

ugh. wanted to enjoy a light drama. with the opening sequences giving us a strong FL character, who didn't speak in high tones and act all coquettish, I thought I'd give it a chance. But I ended up dropping it. Too many worn out, toxic tropes and a lack of commitment to a truly grounded female lead.

1) could they stop making dramas where rural people are depicted as so naive that they're stupid and prudish? Its so classist. Naivete doesn't equal stupid. So, why present this character who is introduced as so grounded and wise and then make her so stupid that she can't look in a mirror and see how horribly she applied makeup? Or that she didn't need the makeup because he had already told her that he'd fallen in love with her? It might make sense for her to be gullible about power dynamics, but the character that we were introduced to wouldn't be so personally insecure that, after they've already established a dating relationship, she succumbs to bad advice, which doesn't suit her personality, at all.

Rural folk may be naive about political machinations in power organizations, but they are not naive about the facts of life. They are very aware of, and, in many cases, less prudish about sex. The minute they had the FL respond to the MLs physical advances with squeamishness, I was done. I had been hoping there would be a more adult story line there. They live in the same apartment. They've been dancing around the fact that they are attracted to one another (supposedly. it was actually hard to sense that she felt any attraction) So, once they admit things and enter into a romantic relationships it is wholly unbelievable that she would shy away from kissing and keep sleeping in a separate bedroom. Real life doesn't work like that and it ruins a story when they keep using this trope. Its not funny. Its cringeworthy and insults the audience.

2) could we please stop having the "oh no, I know something I will hide from my partner and, instead will break their heart in order to "protect" them from hard feelings/whatever" scenario? OMFG, its infuriating. Because, if anyone ever did that to me, even after learning why, I would never want them back in my life. They can't be trusted and they have zero understanding of partnership. When difficult things come up, talk to your damned partner about it and figure out how to proceed together. If writers are going to have characters do this, it should be the definite end of the relationship. It is NOT romantic to have them get back together. Its toxic as hell.

3) the villainous younger brother who doesn't want to share his bro with anyone else was broadcast in the first scene we meet him in: when playing a game with his grandfather. It was poor writing to be so obvious, but also just a gross setup for the story. Like, really, this is the best you could come up with? An immature kid would rather destroy his brother's life than learn that he gained more family? And no one around notices his furtive behaviors? And this supposedly wise woman who has grown up being trained to have a clear mind falls for his crap? Its just all so lame that its disappointing.

4) how many times can it be considered entertaining to have the character who presumes a right to a relationship with someone who has made it perfectly clear that they aren't interested?

Is there really nothing fresh to write?

I won't even go into all the stupid portrayals of business management. Drama writers in South East Asia are very wedded to the most unrealistic and ridiculous ideas about what goes on in a business setting. I wish some of them would take business management courses and go intern for an executive, so they might have some idea of how business really works. These caricatures of business are so prevalent that I've just learned to expect them and hope that other aspects of the story can override the deep eyerolls I'll be suffering through. In this case, there wasn't enough there to get past it.

4) I see indications that the lead actor is fairly skilled. He gets to show a little bit of it here, when he switches gears from the self-collected CEO and goes into traumatized child mode. However, they need to stop putting so much makeup on him. He has larger than life features and unless the makeup is subtle - more natural skin tones, lip color, etc - he borders on clownish. Will the Chinese ever get over the idea that pale white skin is attractive? Its ghoulish. White face has its place in traditional opera, but in these modern dramas, its off-putting.

Agreed. I'm sad that they chose SSK. Her acting always feels flat, coming from her head. She lacks animation. There is no gut. Having her in a drama that is this gritty, where everyone is supposed to feel pretty earthy and grounded just doesn't sound like a good fit. I guess we'll see.

he steals the show in Love To Hate You.

tried to keep going. but, does anyone even want these two to be together?

He's a hotheaded, immature bundle of insecurity. She's tight-lipped, careless and joyless. What's to enjoy about them being together?

Go your separate ways already.

want to enjoy this. the acting is good enough. its a complex political/war environment. a complex family.

what I am struggling with is the FL character (not the actress) and this line of "my dad's in prison, I can't think of anything else." For years. Its just silly. Obviously, she's thinking of lots of other things. She's studying and writing and helping children and hanging out with her friend. She's not allowed to have romantic feelings because her father's in prison? What if he's there for the duration?

Its a silly premise. I wish they would have gone with something more akin to a character who just wasn't ready to be romantic because she had her own interests in life. And, it would make sense for any possible feelings for the ML to take time after the shitty way he, his friends, and his sister treated her when she got there. Why can't she just be an independent person who comes to romantic feelings later than some and mores slowly, because she's an introvert? Every time she mentions, "I don't have time because my dad's in prison", the story loses me.

In fact, the story might be losing me. If it was a story about him and his development, going from a grieving, emotionally stunted child of a powerful father to a more mature man who is worldly, even questioning the power his father has and the system that it stems from, I would be all in. Have his romantic pursuit be a side story, a part of life, but not central to it. The romance itself is meh. Is she smart? Yes. Is she self-directed? Yes. But, other than that the character is rather boring. But, that's me, because i don't like characters that do no play/laughter, at all. In this case, though, the problem is that while, yes, he needs to mature, his playfulness - when light and without a victim - is a part of his personality that helps him rise above his despair. its also a sign of his intelligence. And he deserves a partner who can play/laugh/joke/have fun. Who wants a life of 100% serious maturity?

Would love a season 2!

there are moments in this drama that are so dark. given the kinda light humor that goes on, it always strikes me. that scene where the emperor made her hold the knife. I was a bit traumatized. (Peter Ho is way too good at being a narcissitic psychopath) I simply didn't expect such hard hitting moments. The evil men in this are chillingly evil.

Reversing the toxicity rather than showing a better way of approaching relationships is always a fail, in my book. And, frankly, I got bored. Its obvious where its going, so you have to make getting there interesting, which is via fun or dynamic relations. The women-owned restaurant thing was done in a fairly recent Chinese costume drama, so that wasn't original, either. *sigh*

I see what you mean. I’m at ep 21 now and she’s just annoying me. Gonna stop watching. She’s upset because the High Lord’s wife excluded her from the banquet she organized. But he didn’t know about it and she lied to him when he asked why she wasn’t going. So, why is she angry with him? He’s nothing but supportive of her progressive ventures. He’s always warm and understanding and open to her ideas. He has faith in her and she does not reciprocate. She claims she fell in love with him, but she does not demonstrate that.

I get that she’s in a foreign land, with oppressive rules that she’s not used to. I can buy the notion that, at first, she was too focused on just getting out of there. But, now, she’s opening a business, which a commitment to staying. This person she says she likes is on board and can be a great background support. But, she rejects even spending any time with him?

I find these kind of romance plots too toxic. So, I’m out.

because people are not working, unless it is an essential service. so, there isn't anyone at the TV station manning the systems which air the dramas.