Wenxia

Dark had a miserable ending?! Perceptions really differ, cause I felt they went slightly against the core logic to give their viewers a happy ending:)) That one's in my top5 all-time favourites<3

I truly get your frustration, cause it wouldn't have taken much to round up her arc in an empowering way. I realized maybe halfway that her and Xiang were too broken to be mended. But she could've left for a mission, worked with boss Lu, or got a promotion… If they ended the drama with his and her dreams side by side, choosing to go their separate ways to fight drugs - the ending would've been ten times as impactful. Alas! empowered FLs in cdramas seem to me like a dying breed. I'm ⅔ in 'Bloody Romance' and that one is supposed to be about a female assassin rising to power in a city of female assassins. Somehow that city is still ruled by a man and I can't help but feel her purpose just wasn't written as clearly as the other 2 mls. Lol it feels like 2nd fls get the better stories in a lot of dramas.
As for Song Yi. I was reading some comments on douban and the feeling seems to be similar to ours - she did great but the writers didn't. Lol I even saw some desperate elaborate posts trying to explain how what she did wasn't stupidly ooc at all… So I'd say as an actress she still left a favourable impression:) I dropped it early but I still remember I liked her and her on-screen mother much better than the FLand her friend in Joy of Life. At least she's getting diverse roles:). Sorry for the rambling length of this reply, I've been hemorrhaging chattiness recently-.-

I don't mind, I'm a great fan of delayed gratification;)
61 eps is a lot though. I hope they speak 'contemporary' enough I won't need the subs... Lol Li Yifeng in the lead again..

Ooooh, that's it! I'm putting it on my CW list right away:D I just need a few days of rest, for my mental faculties to refresh after day breaker lol. Thank you so much for reminding me about this drama:* Insane Ying Zheng is just what I needed!!

So true:D I love him! He's the most memorable character in the show for me. I think I'll sooner forget that this series existed than his bathrobe-wearing craziness;)

That's a high recommendation for Song Yi:) I'll try and remember that!

I haven't watched Sparrow but it's def on my list too! Mainly because I know Yin Zheng's there and he's my bias since Winter Begonia;)
Thank you! I'll add it to my list so I don't forget about it again.

I know just idle thought:) But you know she might be less booked so it would've happened faster;)) at least this role still shown her as a capable actress I think - she's just not the lead.

Btw is Disguiser good? I like Republican dramas but every time I wanna start one I'm torn which should I choose - Disguiser, the rebel, fearless whispers, the red with Zhou Yiwei... And I end up watching none of them... They're all so long. May I ask which is your favourite from the bunch?

Maybe it's her that should come back from the dead in s2?! Let's say she surfaces 3 years later at the head of some golden circle cartel;) Could be a cool story. I think the actress totally has it in her to play a badass lead:))

Forgot to add the main point lol. That him blowing up with Long ge would've been satisfying for me, as a sort of emotional release. That the ending that aired didn't really give me. I mean logically it's still fine, but emotionally it's just meh..;)

To me, it seemed like he was disconnected from his feelings as a result of his job - not the starting point. Like, there were a lot of moments in the drama where it looked like he struggled to stay emotionally detached. Was buying that ring really fake? I don't think so, or I hope not:) I mean his story works for me best, if I look at him starting out as a blank page, but continuing on fighting to bring about a better world for his loved ones...

Omg I totally forgot about the Chen Mo kid!! You're right that arc got completely abandoned. I thought they were gonna show that guy again - his reaction, if he was the kid's father as the photo by the door suggested, and how did Xiang end up in his house - cause that was one hell of a coincidence... On that note, whose body was in the grave?

I also thought it was gonna get tied up at the end as the reason for his perseverance! Instead, they added that scene with the blank page.... Sigh, maybe revenge was too un-policemanly for the powers that be?

I get it. I also hoped we'd see him remove his mask by the end and show some of his true emotions. A blow-up with Long ge could've worked great as story finale and an emotional closure in one.

Right! Still, could've spared a few seconds to show her running around and cutting the wires - like that scene with boss Lu - then maybe I wouldn't have that unpleasant 'wtf are we starting with clichés at the eleventh hour?!' moment...

I'm curious:) how did you expect Long ge's story to go? Other than probably bloody?:D

And yes, you're absolutely right - there's really no excuse for killing her off in such a stupid way:/

The one where she was walking holding the bomb? I just didn't read it correctlythen. They could've just showed sitting with her head between her knees or sth. ...or I'm just prejudiced against women fainting in dramas, cause it's usually a sign of bad writing:D

You know, if this was a Western drama, I'd say they WERE setting this up for a 2nd season, and knew that Song Yi wouldn't be back, so they hastily maybe-killed her... Most of the last episode didn't even feel like a grand finale.
No closure for Long ge (never expected him to leave that center tbh), but also no Liao, A-xi or the landlady. Maybe I'm less disappointed cause my expectations for a satisfactory ending were below zero;)

And they didn't even explain why? Did this series also get number of episodes cut? Cause it felt like at least three-episode finale.

Really? Do you have a link?

Ouch! Sorry to hear that 😟 I do think they did her dirty at the end...

No, I think his death was supposed to be just this accidental. It actually felt realistic to me, cause I could feel his frustration, feeling like he's fighting windmills. I would be very unsuitable for this kind of job, so I empathize;).

Just finished the drama. And all I'm gonna say is they could've done much better with this character. Or maybe that cast lineup is just misleading - this is a Li Yifeng drama, then a group of maybe 6 other leads...