ViolinGal

I'm glad you and so many others were able to find layers, meaning, and enjoyment through deciphering details in this drama.

For me, I don't think it's a matter of once I understand XYZ, suddenly my watching experience with this drama will be transformed. I was committed to giving it a chance and finishing it, which I did. I don't think understanding XYZ will change how much I particularly disliked the first 20 episodes where the set-up wasn't an enjoyable watching experience for me.

No, I definitely didn't know who the mastermind was in the first episode. In fact, I'd be surprised if anyone not familiar with the source story understood anything regarding the plot in the first episode. I was wildly confused and had to go search for a recap to understand what I watched. I posted about that here and people cautioned me against looking at recaps because of spoilers, so after that I avoided them....expecting that there would be surprises/twists that I wouldn't see coming. But in my experience, nothing that was revealed (whether as a hint to the audience or a confession to a character) was impactful to me. It was never surprising, and perhaps it wasn't meant to be, but I do think that expectation I had where it would be better for me to avoid as many spoilers as possible, left me disappointed in the end with how predictable everything felt.

I've had so many thoughtful responses to my comment, which initially was made just to throw a bone out there to anyone who attempted this drama and had similar feelings. I feel bad that I wasn't able to enjoy this drama the same way as so many others, and I hope I remain a small minority.

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. :)

I enjoy thoughtful, cerebral works of art that imitate life or real connections/relationships so I wish I could change my perspective and have a similar experience with this drama that you did. I didn't feel the impact or see the story as a reflection of real life, though I see how others could see it that way (especially if someone saw it through the lens of losing and finding family).

Oh of course, I agree there is so much variance in a genre and one drama doesn't represent it in its entirety. But I do think people have preferences and based on my experience with this one (especially since it is so highly regarded as one of the best cultivation dramas out there), it's a hurdle that might be a bit too high for me. But I'm definitely open. I probably won't get to it until a couple months out, but next in my list is Eternal Love, which I think is a cultivation drama of sorts?

I wasn't comparing the two dramas (I noted they're from different genres), though I can see how someone could misconstrue my comment that way. The only similarity I commented on is the length (similar to most C-dramas). If I was to recommend someone new to C-dramas and they had to invest time in the drama (since most C-dramas are quite lengthy), my pick would be Nirvana in Fire. I genuinely thought it was a better investment in time.

But that's just me. :)

What weren't you impressed about it initially, but then changed your mind on?

For me, the biggest thing was just that there were no surprises. I guessed all the twists. Some of the acting choices (both voice & non-voice) brought me out of the moment and I didn't feel the emotional punches as much as I wanted to. Also, I wanted a more in-depth and complex plot ....for as many characters that they introduced, I don't think they were developed well (especially the more villainous ones).

I feel like I would have enjoyed it more if revenge was more-so at the fore-front from any angle/character; it felt like misunderstandings and pilling on/martyrdom of the ML were the driving forces.

I was committed to watching it because I'm systematically going through all the top rated dramas I haven't seen. I'm glad I watched it, there were some good moments, but I think it ultimately left me dreading other cultivation C-dramas.

Thanks for the link to the glossary though, very helpful. :)

Just finished it. TBH, if I was going to recommend a long C-drama to someone it wouldn't be this drama. I'd recommend Nirvana in Fire. I recognize they're different genres, and perhaps the "cultivation" thing just isn't for me. ...But I found the Nirvana in Fire set-up and pay off a much more enjoyable watching experience.

I recognize I'm in the minority for not fully enjoying this drama (it was alright -- the more enjoyable parts of course being the bromance), but I wanted to throw this comment out there just in case some lone stragglers on this drama page had a similar watching experience that I did and wanted some validation.

Unfortunately it continued to be frustrating for me throughout the entirety of the series. I love side characters that are well developed, and there were a few of them here. But the vast majority of them were very one-note and forgettable. I felt the same in IOTNBO as well. So I guess we just have different drama tastes there.

They removed duplicate accounts.

https://kisskh.at/discussions/support/49893-release-notes?page=last#p1412155

Thank you so much!

That's good to know about the first 2 episodes being an introduction of sorts and that things will start making more sense.

Thanks, I'll definitely ask here if I'm confused about anything going forward. :)

That's good to know there will be a very long flashback. Good to know about the recaps, I found some that were giving context for the 1st episode because a lot of viewers not familiar with the source material were confused, and they weren't spoiler-y. But I'll definitely be cautious with them going forward. Thanks!

I watched Nirvana in Fire and it similarly was confusing for the first part of the story, but the set-up was worth it. Thanks for the reassurance!

I just watched the first episode and had to immediately go out in search for a recap to understand what I just watched. As someone that is not familiar with the source material, is that going to be my experience for the full 50 episodes?

I'm committed to finishing it regardless, but I would like reassurance that after you pass X number of episodes, you stop having to decipher/attempt to understand what happened in the episode.

I gave this drama a 2.5 and the OTP's romance was the only reason this drama wasn't a 1. I thought they had chemistry and were cute, but I wasn't wild about their romance storyline either TBH.

Like you said, this drama should have delved more into the lore behind Bo Soon's powers & their passion for developing games. THAT could have been a really great drama, but that's unfortunately not what we got.

I've genuinely never seen slapstick & serial killer horror combined before in a drama. I don't know if it was an experiment, or if the writer was just throwing EVERYTHING at the drama in attempt to get variety, but it felt like 3 separate dramas. The result was a whiplash watching experience that I wouldn't recommend to anyone.

Maybe if you're REALLY into the lead actors, skip around for their scenes. But if they're not your biases, I wouldn't recommend even that.

No, you're not alone. This drama was incredibly disappointing to me. But I'd also quibble about the stories not involving the leads being "good." ...Sure, I cared about Rang more, but I think there could have been more done to flesh out his story better. ...But that's just me.

So it's fairly predictable with tons of clichés, but their chemistry is fabulous and like others have mentioned, the kissing scenes are really good.

I will never understand the appeal of this drama. Sometimes the leads could be cute (the sole saving grace), but honestly it was one of the worst dramas from Kdrama-land that I've ever seen.

The mish-mash of various genres did NOT work well here. It was always odd and off-putting.

This drama is an absolutely astonishing feat in character building. I've watched everything from these writers and a lot of praise gets heaped at their work, but this is by FAR their most successful drama IMO. The episodes are long, but they truly didn't feel like it; I savored every minute.

They truly made you care about every character and the lead was honestly the most likable lead I've seen from a drama....ever.

You should probably edit your post and mark this as a spoiler so you don’t spoil the surprise ending for someone scrolling through these comments that hasn’t watched yet. :)

They’re together in the end.

Hmm, I like the theory. I wish there was a scene between him and the gatekeeper where they explored that, or made it seem like he's still working for her. ...It just seemed so out of left field and counter to what they were saying Yeon wants.

At least with your theory, he gets to maintain his human status.