I do not quite understand Pei Zhen’s hostility towards Xiao Zhi Yu. It’s kind of felt forced and inconsistent.…
I have a different take.
I'd say a large part of Pei Zhen's emotional insecurity has to do primarily with Pei Zhen's father. Pei Zhen's father is clearly a nasty piece of work. He has done shady things re that supplier company no longer in the list of companies supplying parts that terminated working with Zhuling, threatens Pei Zhen that if Pei Zhen allows Zhuling to be exposed than Pei Zhen will go down too, has no qualms hitting his own biological son in the face and when it came to Pei Zhen having to bring flowers to the grave of Xiao Zhiyu's father, Pei Zhen's father couldn't care about the outcome or the process or the ties between both non-biological stepbrothers as long as the deed had been done as he wanted.
The fact that he is touched by such small kindness from Hu Xiu re the plaster makes me wonder what he grew up with from his father. At least his stepmother is kind to him. Boys typically grow up wanting to win the approval and respect of their biological fathers. And if a father emotionally abuses and manipulates them by also withholding affection, one outcome can be a son's character being warped and the other outcome also affects the emotional outlook from the son when it comes to relationships. Narcissistic parents produce narcissistic children.
Pei Zhen is not a narcissist, but he is exhibiting all the symptoms of emotional abuse from a father figure, in how he behaves towards Xiao Zhiyu.
He constantly criticises or belittles Zhiyu (partially due to how Xiao Zhiyu treats his own biological mother), tries to manipulate dynamics eg declaring to the family over a meal that he has found a girl he loves at work and why (and he hasn't even checked in with said woman about this before making such a claim)- Does he have any close friends he can confide in? If he doesn't, that speaks clearly and loudly about trust issues.
I'm not for Pei Zhen winding up with anyone because I want to see how he develops as a character. If anything, he should protect Zhuling from his father.
I would like Pei Zhen to learn from Hu Xiu what it means to have a good friend, so he can learn healthy emotional responses from her, and overcome the likely rubbish of years that his father has fed him against Xiao Zhiyu.
Hu Xiu clearly told off Zhiyu in episode 19 about unacceptable behaviour from Zhiyu. Zhiyu had to quickly wise up and change his behaviour, or lose Hu Xiu permanently. Zhiyu has chips on his shoulder, and I'm glad he gets help to become emotionally healthy. Meeting Hu Xiu is good for him.
Xiao Zhiyu and Pei Zhen don't strike me as emotionally healthy before Hu Xiu became a fixture in their lives. At the start of the drama and over the first 15 episodes, I was questioning if each of these brothers had a good friend or friends to confide in akin to Hu Xiu with Xiaorou. I hope their brotherhood is finally repaired because of the lessons Hu Xiu teaches each of them as individuals and about being good friends, first and foremost.
if Xiao Zhiyu didn't change further by episode 19, I would have said Xiao Zhiyu is still undatable. Pei Zhen even after episode 19 is still undatable.
Dai Xu is doing such a good job with making a typical 2ML role interesting (when it's not an unusual characterisation) that I literally don't want him paired with anyone for this drama. He didn't have to stretch his acting chops here. He only demonstrated how he made a non-interesting 2ML characterisation interesting, and it does not even appear to be stretching him in the acting department.
It’s amazing that even after 30 episodes or so, the show still manages to maintain suspense and stress me out…
Are you going to be stressed for tonight's episodes? I was ok with the suspense which was well-plotted and doable for me, until the previews for episodes 32 and 33.
There is no romantic plot both in the original and in this remake, and I don't think it can be considered even…
You have answered nothing of what I insisted upon, which was started by you claiming EVERY ASPECT must be analysed.
Cite a specific scene, tell me how the eye acting between Zhang Zi Feng and IU is different to back your claims about one being able to eye act and the other cannot. Saying Zhang Zifeng can do micro-expressions while claiming IU has fish eyes is not an analysis of eye acting. IF you are still unable to address this issue with specifics I mentioned in your next reply to me, then I will definitely be 10000% certain in my preliminary conclusion that YOU DEFINITELY DID NOT WATCH MY MISTER :D
[ You mentioned what everyone thinks is the best historical thriller, Strange Tales of Tang dynasty, and sorry to say korea stopped with historical dramas since 2012 almost, and never did an historical one without romance. ] - I only said, "Some dramas thankfully don't do so eg Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty." pertaining to not having over-usage of BGM versus Fated Hearts. I never said anything else about SToTD.
[ The scene you mention is at the very end of episode 1 and it simply shows the struggles of human being, which is totally washed away in the original. ] - IU was also pushing the gurney bed of her grandmother in "My Mister". Explain how the scene of IU taking her grandmother out of the hospital in the same manner and/or pushing her grandmother in said bed on the road is washed away in the original versus here. I expect specifics.
Why do you insist on twisting people's words to create arguments that were never made? Why do you like to dumb down and be condescending to viewers who can appreciate both dramas, when you have not watched the original drama? Why do you insult k-drama fans?
In fact, I don't like some parts of the first season primarily due to the screenwriting, which is why I recommend new viewers to SToTD wondering if they can finish SToTD to watch Season 4 first. Short drama style, better emotional dynamics to connect the audience into becoming interested in the backstory and enhance the weaknesses of Season 1, preserves the mystery-solving and not with political intrigues of Season 3 which some viewers did not like. Season 2 is usually the preferred season of all 4 seasons of SToTD. I am not a fan of SToTD. You've made too many statements proving you only know how to blast people with your beliefs, your reading comprehension is poor in English, and you don't know much about C-dramas or drama analysis for any genre or country.
Vomiting out chunks of opinions without specifics proves my points about you not knowing how to analyse dramas in-depth:
Please answer my question about your claims and stop parkouring to avoid specifics: When did you watch more than 5000 Korean dramas, as you claim? What year to what year?
You're coming across as consistently xenophobic and racist about Koreans and Westerners. Try again.
There is no romantic plot both in the original and in this remake, and I don't think it can be considered even…
[ I watched more than 5K cdramas and i have never found such a superficial and shallow public as kdrama fans. ] - From what year to what year did you watch more than 5000 Korean dramas? This is a very interesting claim. How many kdrama fans did you speak to?
You've insisted repeatedly to different viewers on this page that everything in every aspect has to be compared. Here's what I expect from you, since you are the one who started all this days ago and insists on this approach while ramming your opinion down anyone's throat who remotely praised the original:
For example, I would say I very much like the OP song whereby the lyrics and vocals are very fitting for the drama and the scenes of OP song. However, I reckon over-usage of music weakens certain scenes, a specific example being 41:26 of episode 1 when I felt that our FL pushing her grandmother up the hill was spoilt by music coming in at 41:29. This would have been an intensely powerful scene at its maximum, to hear her laboured breathing in contrast with her grandmother's silent flailing or sign language. The original K-drama knew when not to OD on BGM.
It diluted the rawness of Zhang Zifeng's efforts for me and to also have silence leading in to the preview scenes for episode 2 would terrifically cement the impression of rawness and hardship and desperation she is trying to overcome, as someone overlooked and despised as dregs of humanity. This is not a good decision in post-production. Zifeng's performance will draw in people as I expect, given I've supported her in her movie efforts including watching her previous 2 movies.
C-dramas have this tendency to overuse music and BGMs (another example is the OP song by Sa Ding Ding in Fated Hearts also inserted for many scenes of the drama, but since she was music director... Too bad the other directors didn't rein her in). I enjoyed that drama immensely despite its flaws, some of which were individual traits minimised by the directors. Some dramas thankfully don't do so eg Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty.
You don't need to hide your comments bashing IU's acting under a spoiler tag. What you need to do is compare both their acting differences. I have given you an apt example in this comment. f you claim one can act with their eyes and the other cannot act with their eyes, I cannot take you seriously. That's a superficial opinion. You've made so many claims about this remake being superior and IU's acting being terrible that I expect details. I therefore expect you to cite a specific scene, specific timing and explain differences in the eye acting of ZZF versus IU.
Until you can go beyond superficial statements, I remain convinced you never watched the original K-drama "My Mister".
Throughout this entire drama page until today 19 January 2026, you are unable to post an analysis the way I have presented my thoughts for just one example. You only make blanket statements about the K-drama original you are insulting. Telling people what happens scene by scene for the remake and how it makes you feel or what emotion it conveys is not an analysis.
for me it's exactly the opposite... the big NO was the kdramas, too much useless comedy
I posted a commercial feature segment from tvn Asia when explaining what I perceived to be an unusual love story, and the viewer you are talking to decided to try to school me about "My Mister" ( I found myself wondering if they watched "My Mister" and if they understood the script, because they have only made blanket statements). This is in spite of me stating I was enjoying the cultural differences between the original and this remake. Of course, I didn't realise at that point I was talking to someone whose profile states:
"Jdramas and Cdramas are life, the only real drama in this world" (bold and underlined).
I think you'll find the entire short thread helpfully conclusive, parkouring also a feature being present there.
And in a comment to Bill Dew four days ago, the viewer also stated:
[ I like IU as actress in the original too, but her characters was too shallow and bad i did not like it. This remake is far more realistic, intense, depressing because it's the real tone of the drama.]
remakes are made to be compared, don't worry. Give it a chance, it's far better than the original, more deep and…
More than 5 days ago, Chinese Empress disagreed with me quoting the commercial feature from tvn Asia for "My Mister", since I decided to answer the question of whether there is romance in "My Mister" while explaining specific context of what I perceive to be an unusual love story: https://kisskh.at/748667-wo-de-da-shu#comment-24805186
I'm really torn about starting this show, because My Mister is the work of art that has touched me most deeply…
IMHO, you have to watch this remake and assess it solely on its own merits. It is not a competition of one drama winning or one drama losing, but anyone who likes the original may have significant difficulties adjusting to this one. I'd say go in with an open mind and if you think you're fine after watching four or five episodes, continue enjoying this remake :)
if you decide to drop it, that's understandable too. At the end of the day, enjoy what you watch.
There is no romantic plot both in the original and in this remake, and I don't think it can be considered even…
I notice you shifted the goalposts about what I mentioned, since you clearly did not understand what I wrote and you don't want to confess to being wrong.
I look forward to your insights on this drama gracing this page, since you have described yourself so highly while insulting everything about "My Mister". I shall presume you have at least 30 years of experience watching C-Ent just like me, so everyone on this page can expect you will be giving stunning intellectual insights comparing how this remake is superior in every single way to "My Mister" because you insist on comparing everything.
I'll be expecting much better dissections about 'Loving Strangers" from you, unlike what I have shared as a superficial take.
No doubt your self-purported stunning intellect will stun fellow viewers on this page, depending on the aspects you decide to showcase so anyone can clearly see what you are going to stun people with. So far I have not seen anything beyond blanket statements from you, hence I and multiple viewers are unconvinced by your opinions. It seems you've managed to enable multiple viewers to decide not to talk to you when less than half the episodes of this drama have aired, given how you answer them. That is a stunning achievement in itself.
Repeating an opinion ten times a day doesn't create reality. Thanks.
There is no romantic plot both in the original and in this remake, and I don't think it can be considered even…
I've watched C-Ent for close to 30 years. And in my experience, I totally agree with your earlier comment to me that this remake must be assessed completely on its own merits.
People who watch the original would struggle with this remake. I definitely had to make a significant effort to assess this drama on its own terms to have enjoyment, even though I like the actress for the FL whom I'm a fan of.
I have at least one mandarin-speaking friend who has dropped this drama, and I don't fault them for their comparisons to the original and favouring the original. Too much BGM for this remake, which affects the rawness in bleakness of the overall tone for the first few episode. The OSTs have a different focus.
I also believe they should have kept the original setup of the three brothers in the 40s. All three males represent different aspects of the ego as per Sigmund Freud (this is not explained but demonstrated well in "My Mister" such as how each brother reacted about/to ML's wife after knowing ML found out about his wife's affair): Id, ego and superego. Id is ML's younger brother. Ego is ML. Super-ego is older brother.
~*~*~*~
As to Chinese Empress, here's a viewer on "Scarlet Hearts" drama page answering them:
[ I see you comment on almost every post here. You don't not need to play defense for a TV show. I am allowed to have a differing opinion from you. ]
and
[ @Chinese Empress So we are not supposed to have opinions on anything until we have seen it in its entirety? If you do this for everything then I commended you, but for most it is unrealistic. I plan to finish the series, and I will be sure to give my final thoughts. I will NOT reply to you any longer though as it is a waste of time. ]
Is Chinese Empress dissing the Korean original in multiple aspects to multiple viewers, when remarking on the C-drama remake "Scarlet Hearts"?
[ i think exactly the opposite, in the Korean remake there is no chemistry but in the original Chinese there is so much chemistry they got married in real life] - https://kisskh.at/2969-scarlet-heart#comment-24216042
[ let me tell you. Korea version is not angst at all compared to Chinese original one. Everything is on another level. Depth, acting, angst, love. With the Korean remake i laughed so hard until the end, i had no emotion at all from them. Chinese original one makes me cry a river ] - https://kisskh.at/2969-scarlet-heart#comment-23920336
Remakes can be handled differently due to different angles and intentions and changes from the original, but Chinese Empress clearly must compare everything and the Korean version is always inferior in every way. You can scroll down the drama page to see it all.
Then again, the profile of Chinese Empress states: Jdramas and Cdramas are life, the only real drama in this world (bold and underlined).
Chinese Empress doesn't reserve her disdain only for anything South Korean, and also mentioned Westerners on another drama page:
[8.6 on DB, more than 13thousand people rated it, becoming the most high ranking drama in 2025. Western people are sleeping on this, but I'm glad people are recognising it and the great work cast and crew did. My heart aches for Chinese people who had to endure all this. Jiang Qilin, Zhang Yu and Yin Zheng are doing a great job ]
Meanwhile, I see in a comment to Bill Dew four days ago on this drama page "Loving Strangers", she also stated:
[ I like IU as actress in the original too, but her characters was too shallow and bad i did not like it. This remake is far more realistic, intense, depressing because it's the real tone of the drama.]
Multiple viewers took issue with her comments on more than one drama page. I believe that says enough about any kind of engagement with Chinese Empress, and I hope this helps.
I'd say serial killer would be top choice. Veterinarian or cardiologist by occupation, and serial killer by night…
You and LoveDemonGodTTJ want him to consider a drama option of being a vampire :D What's your take on that, meaning what are you thinking of him achieving in his role as a vampire?
There is definitely no lead romance in My Mister.. I can't see them adding it here.
Let me help you understand what I wrote:
[ A significant number of viewers will say there is no romance in the original K-drama. There are also a significant number of viewers of the original K-drama who say it's ultimately a journey of two very different people overcoming their personal hurdles and becoming friends to finally be free and resolve issues they each needed to tackle, resonating as a rare love story without romance (in the sense of romantic portrayals and tropes commonly expected by viewers for romance). ] - This implies that viewers of the original have different views, including the fact that a love story happened but without romance, as per the descriptions I expounded on.
You can have a love story without romance. This is important because if people expect romance, then they will have the wrong idea.
There is a love story for "My Mister", only it's not what a lot of people would expect for a love story especially if you are the type to link romance as a must-have to be considered a love story (I don't know if you're that type).
tvn Asia is run by Warner Bros agreeing to adhere to the license agreement of CJ ENM, CJ ENM being a South Korean entertainment and retail company.
I will also quote the caption that tvn asia's commercial feature featured on-screen for the commercial feature at 3:00. It states for everyone to read "An intriguing age-gap romance between Lee Sun Kyun and IU)". You can watch their entire youtube segment that I linked in my original comment.
If you disagree with the official commercial feature by tvn Asia being aired in line with their parent South Korean entertainment company to promote "My Mister" before airing as I have shared from 2018, you can take it up with them but I'm sure they know what they were doing.
Also, the ending for episode 16 of "My Mister" was perfect. The ML had broken up with his wife, which we see from the photos being displayed and more importantly, what he said. At 1 hour 25 minutes, he said "my kid and my kid's mom" when speaking about his son before he got cut off. He used "ae-umma". During the previous episodes, he had saved his wife as "chib-saram" on his mobile phone. One can say "wife" in multiple ways in hangeul, such as chib-saram (집사람) in a traditional manner, a-nae (아내 ), manura (마누라), waipu (와이프), etc
"ae-umma" in a casual context says it all about what Dong-hoon's situation is, when he meets Ji-an again after a one-year time-skip.
This remake has to be assessed solely on its own merits, to match the title of the remake drama (I don't know why they used "Loving Strangers" when that's not what the mandarin title means).
I was going YES! and then er wait, how are we going to get out of this?
You know you're hooked when I forget that I'm not in the drama XD
Episode 25 makes me very happy with so many little details to history. Episode 26 was full of one-on-one heartfelt exchanges, many different types of motives both touching and scheming. Episode 27 dashed my hopes for a certain attempt to succeed. Episode 28 is full of questions and how to counter questions. Episode 29- Will 15 remaining episodes be enough to wrap things up wonderfully?
2ML Syndrome appears to be a phrase interpreted differently by different people. So as to aid in clarification,…
You're welcome. Before MDL massively lags again and prevents some of us from being on this site for hours, here is what I'd say a semi-lazy attempt at PR looks like (and you'd have to brush up, because you're nowhere close :p): https://kisskh.at/772283-ming-men-shi-jia#comment-24642016
2ML Syndrome appears to be a phrase interpreted differently by different people. So as to aid in clarification,…
Your initial post (https://kisskh.at/760693-ya-xi#comment-24834520) was pretty clear to me about Dai Xu's performance relative to Pei Zhen and nothing about 2ML Syndrome except mentioning the term, but I believe different users are interpreting the term differently in their minds, hence misunderstandings can occur upon seeing that term.
I wouldn't consider your observations to be at the level of a PR post, simply a well-phrased opinion. You did the same when posting a recent summary about several of the cast doing their own ADRs: https://kisskh.at/760693-ya-xi#comment-24841970
Thank you for your observations. If and when you write a review for this drama, I would be interested to read :D
I’ve noticed that whenever I share an opinion or analysis, my responses tend to be more comprehensive.I naturally…
2ML Syndrome appears to be a phrase interpreted differently by different people. So as to aid in clarification, 2ML in my understanding (as per K-dramas) refers to viewers rooting for the 2ML to wind up romantically with FL in a drama instead of ML with FL.
If you're praising Dai Xu's performance as Pei Zhen and not intending a romantic angle as per that definition, then you don't have 2ML Syndrome. You can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd say praising a performance of an actor for being good/nuanced/excellent and explaining why isn't offensive, unless someone wants to take your opinion personally in a negative light for whatsoever reasons. If a viewer cannot differentiate between an actor and the role being carried out as a performance and hence takes offence, the problem isn't yours but the viewer who needs a reality check.
Me having a dilemma, cuz I like both male leads XD
For me, Jiang Qi Lin is the strongest in emoting overall, for "The Truth Within". He's a veteran in modern dramas for certain supporting roles, and he nailed what he needed to be as a cop with a chip on his shoulder. Non-mandarin speakers wouldn't know much about Jiang Qi Lin's abilities. Liu Ya-se easily matched him, as an award-winning actress. Luo Yunxi had been given a character role with doubts and PTSD that could only be clearer for portrayal in the second half of the drama, but also matched them when the scenes primarily relied on micro-emoting to create maximum tension and history. In three episodes, I got a wonderful emotional buffet of micro-emoting. Super happy.
I always need my leads or SML/SFLs to have a certain skill acting level. If they can't nail it, I don't care if they win popularity awards because that means zilch in long-term concerns they might have about the impact of their craft and filmography being timeless, when they eventually leave the industry. Xing Fei gave a fantastic portrayal as Ning SuSu in "This Thriving Land", and I adored her as the younger sister to Yang Mi's character.
I would like to see Chen Xing Xu as a complex villain at some point, because that would be intriguing. Dai Xu has shown he can do this well enough. You'll enjoy both of them not getting along XD Frankly, just like them both. I'm happiest when I'm enjoying performances of the ensemble cast being dimensional with depth (good and evil characters), just like "The Guardians" and "River Sunset".
Me having a dilemma, cuz I like both male leads XD
Hehehehehehe.
Both are swoon-worthy, be it Chen Xing Xu or Dai Xu. I'm on a modern drama/period drama kick, so not in the mood for historical dramas. The stepbrothers in this drama (Xiao Zhiyu and Pei Zhen) look good in glasses and are executing their differences well.
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I'd say a large part of Pei Zhen's emotional insecurity has to do primarily with Pei Zhen's father. Pei Zhen's father is clearly a nasty piece of work. He has done shady things re that supplier company no longer in the list of companies supplying parts that terminated working with Zhuling, threatens Pei Zhen that if Pei Zhen allows Zhuling to be exposed than Pei Zhen will go down too, has no qualms hitting his own biological son in the face and when it came to Pei Zhen having to bring flowers to the grave of Xiao Zhiyu's father, Pei Zhen's father couldn't care about the outcome or the process or the ties between both non-biological stepbrothers as long as the deed had been done as he wanted.
The fact that he is touched by such small kindness from Hu Xiu re the plaster makes me wonder what he grew up with from his father. At least his stepmother is kind to him. Boys typically grow up wanting to win the approval and respect of their biological fathers. And if a father emotionally abuses and manipulates them by also withholding affection, one outcome can be a son's character being warped and the other outcome also affects the emotional outlook from the son when it comes to relationships. Narcissistic parents produce narcissistic children.
Pei Zhen is not a narcissist, but he is exhibiting all the symptoms of emotional abuse from a father figure, in how he behaves towards Xiao Zhiyu.
He constantly criticises or belittles Zhiyu (partially due to how Xiao Zhiyu treats his own biological mother), tries to manipulate dynamics eg declaring to the family over a meal that he has found a girl he loves at work and why (and he hasn't even checked in with said woman about this before making such a claim)- Does he have any close friends he can confide in? If he doesn't, that speaks clearly and loudly about trust issues.
I'm not for Pei Zhen winding up with anyone because I want to see how he develops as a character. If anything, he should protect Zhuling from his father.
I would like Pei Zhen to learn from Hu Xiu what it means to have a good friend, so he can learn healthy emotional responses from her, and overcome the likely rubbish of years that his father has fed him against Xiao Zhiyu.
Hu Xiu clearly told off Zhiyu in episode 19 about unacceptable behaviour from Zhiyu. Zhiyu had to quickly wise up and change his behaviour, or lose Hu Xiu permanently. Zhiyu has chips on his shoulder, and I'm glad he gets help to become emotionally healthy. Meeting Hu Xiu is good for him.
Xiao Zhiyu and Pei Zhen don't strike me as emotionally healthy before Hu Xiu became a fixture in their lives. At the start of the drama and over the first 15 episodes, I was questioning if each of these brothers had a good friend or friends to confide in akin to Hu Xiu with Xiaorou. I hope their brotherhood is finally repaired because of the lessons Hu Xiu teaches each of them as individuals and about being good friends, first and foremost.
if Xiao Zhiyu didn't change further by episode 19, I would have said Xiao Zhiyu is still undatable. Pei Zhen even after episode 19 is still undatable.
Dai Xu is doing such a good job with making a typical 2ML role interesting (when it's not an unusual characterisation) that I literally don't want him paired with anyone for this drama. He didn't have to stretch his acting chops here. He only demonstrated how he made a non-interesting 2ML characterisation interesting, and it does not even appear to be stretching him in the acting department.
Any pairings can wait when Dai Xu gets a ML role.
Cite a specific scene, tell me how the eye acting between Zhang Zi Feng and IU is different to back your claims about one being able to eye act and the other cannot. Saying Zhang Zifeng can do micro-expressions while claiming IU has fish eyes is not an analysis of eye acting. IF you are still unable to address this issue with specifics I mentioned in your next reply to me, then I will definitely be 10000% certain in my preliminary conclusion that YOU DEFINITELY DID NOT WATCH MY MISTER :D
[ You mentioned what everyone thinks is the best historical thriller, Strange Tales of Tang dynasty, and sorry to say korea stopped with historical dramas since 2012 almost, and never did an historical one without romance. ] - I only said, "Some dramas thankfully don't do so eg Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty." pertaining to not having over-usage of BGM versus Fated Hearts. I never said anything else about SToTD.
[ The scene you mention is at the very end of episode 1 and it simply shows the struggles of human being, which is totally washed away in the original. ] - IU was also pushing the gurney bed of her grandmother in "My Mister". Explain how the scene of IU taking her grandmother out of the hospital in the same manner and/or pushing her grandmother in said bed on the road is washed away in the original versus here. I expect specifics.
Why do you insist on twisting people's words to create arguments that were never made? Why do you like to dumb down and be condescending to viewers who can appreciate both dramas, when you have not watched the original drama? Why do you insult k-drama fans?
In fact, I don't like some parts of the first season primarily due to the screenwriting, which is why I recommend new viewers to SToTD wondering if they can finish SToTD to watch Season 4 first. Short drama style, better emotional dynamics to connect the audience into becoming interested in the backstory and enhance the weaknesses of Season 1, preserves the mystery-solving and not with political intrigues of Season 3 which some viewers did not like. Season 2 is usually the preferred season of all 4 seasons of SToTD. I am not a fan of SToTD. You've made too many statements proving you only know how to blast people with your beliefs, your reading comprehension is poor in English, and you don't know much about C-dramas or drama analysis for any genre or country.
Vomiting out chunks of opinions without specifics proves my points about you not knowing how to analyse dramas in-depth:
https://kisskh.at/748667-wo-de-da-shu#comment-24889234
https://kisskh.at/748667-wo-de-da-shu#comment-24889264
Please answer my question about your claims and stop parkouring to avoid specifics: When did you watch more than 5000 Korean dramas, as you claim? What year to what year?
You're coming across as consistently xenophobic and racist about Koreans and Westerners. Try again.
This is a very interesting claim. How many kdrama fans did you speak to?
You've insisted repeatedly to different viewers on this page that everything in every aspect has to be compared. Here's what I expect from you, since you are the one who started all this days ago and insists on this approach while ramming your opinion down anyone's throat who remotely praised the original:
For example, I would say I very much like the OP song whereby the lyrics and vocals are very fitting for the drama and the scenes of OP song. However, I reckon over-usage of music weakens certain scenes, a specific example being 41:26 of episode 1 when I felt that our FL pushing her grandmother up the hill was spoilt by music coming in at 41:29. This would have been an intensely powerful scene at its maximum, to hear her laboured breathing in contrast with her grandmother's silent flailing or sign language. The original K-drama knew when not to OD on BGM.
It diluted the rawness of Zhang Zifeng's efforts for me and to also have silence leading in to the preview scenes for episode 2 would terrifically cement the impression of rawness and hardship and desperation she is trying to overcome, as someone overlooked and despised as dregs of humanity. This is not a good decision in post-production. Zifeng's performance will draw in people as I expect, given I've supported her in her movie efforts including watching her previous 2 movies.
C-dramas have this tendency to overuse music and BGMs (another example is the OP song by Sa Ding Ding in Fated Hearts also inserted for many scenes of the drama, but since she was music director... Too bad the other directors didn't rein her in). I enjoyed that drama immensely despite its flaws, some of which were individual traits minimised by the directors. Some dramas thankfully don't do so eg Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty.
You don't need to hide your comments bashing IU's acting under a spoiler tag. What you need to do is compare both their acting differences. I have given you an apt example in this comment. f you claim one can act with their eyes and the other cannot act with their eyes, I cannot take you seriously. That's a superficial opinion. You've made so many claims about this remake being superior and IU's acting being terrible that I expect details. I therefore expect you to cite a specific scene, specific timing and explain differences in the eye acting of ZZF versus IU.
Until you can go beyond superficial statements, I remain convinced you never watched the original K-drama "My Mister".
Throughout this entire drama page until today 19 January 2026, you are unable to post an analysis the way I have presented my thoughts for just one example. You only make blanket statements about the K-drama original you are insulting. Telling people what happens scene by scene for the remake and how it makes you feel or what emotion it conveys is not an analysis.
"Jdramas and Cdramas are life, the only real drama in this world" (bold and underlined).
I think you'll find the entire short thread helpfully conclusive, parkouring also a feature being present there.
https://kisskh.at/748667-wo-de-da-shu#comment-24805186
And in a comment to Bill Dew four days ago, the viewer also stated:
[ I like IU as actress in the original too, but her characters was too shallow and bad i did not like it. This remake is far more realistic, intense, depressing because it's the real tone of the drama.]
https://kisskh.at/748667-wo-de-da-shu#comment-24840054
People can like an original and a remake, and it doesn't have to be a competition.
That thread should help you with your question.
if you decide to drop it, that's understandable too. At the end of the day, enjoy what you watch.
I look forward to your insights on this drama gracing this page, since you have described yourself so highly while insulting everything about "My Mister". I shall presume you have at least 30 years of experience watching C-Ent just like me, so everyone on this page can expect you will be giving stunning intellectual insights comparing how this remake is superior in every single way to "My Mister" because you insist on comparing everything.
To help you, here's an example of my superficial summary for recently-airing "Glory" after watching episodes 1 to 4: https://kisskh.at/772283-ming-men-shi-jia#comment-24642016
I'll be expecting much better dissections about 'Loving Strangers" from you, unlike what I have shared as a superficial take.
No doubt your self-purported stunning intellect will stun fellow viewers on this page, depending on the aspects you decide to showcase so anyone can clearly see what you are going to stun people with. So far I have not seen anything beyond blanket statements from you, hence I and multiple viewers are unconvinced by your opinions. It seems you've managed to enable multiple viewers to decide not to talk to you when less than half the episodes of this drama have aired, given how you answer them. That is a stunning achievement in itself.
Repeating an opinion ten times a day doesn't create reality. Thanks.
People who watch the original would struggle with this remake. I definitely had to make a significant effort to assess this drama on its own terms to have enjoyment, even though I like the actress for the FL whom I'm a fan of.
I have at least one mandarin-speaking friend who has dropped this drama, and I don't fault them for their comparisons to the original and favouring the original. Too much BGM for this remake, which affects the rawness in bleakness of the overall tone for the first few episode. The OSTs have a different focus.
I also believe they should have kept the original setup of the three brothers in the 40s. All three males represent different aspects of the ego as per Sigmund Freud (this is not explained but demonstrated well in "My Mister" such as how each brother reacted about/to ML's wife after knowing ML found out about his wife's affair): Id, ego and superego. Id is ML's younger brother. Ego is ML. Super-ego is older brother.
~*~*~*~
As to Chinese Empress, here's a viewer on "Scarlet Hearts" drama page answering them:
[ I see you comment on almost every post here. You don't not need to play defense for a TV show. I am allowed to have a differing opinion from you. ]
and
[ @Chinese Empress So we are not supposed to have opinions on anything until we have seen it in its entirety? If you do this for everything then I commended you, but for most it is unrealistic. I plan to finish the series, and I will be sure to give my final thoughts. I will NOT reply to you any longer though as it is a waste of time. ]
https://kisskh.at/2969-scarlet-heart#comment-24593736
Is Chinese Empress dissing the Korean original in multiple aspects to multiple viewers, when remarking on the C-drama remake "Scarlet Hearts"?
[ i think exactly the opposite, in the Korean remake there is no chemistry but in the original Chinese there is so much chemistry they got married in real life] - https://kisskh.at/2969-scarlet-heart#comment-24216042
[ let me tell you. Korea version is not angst at all compared to Chinese original one. Everything is on another level. Depth, acting, angst, love.
With the Korean remake i laughed so hard until the end, i had no emotion at all from them. Chinese original one makes me cry a river ] - https://kisskh.at/2969-scarlet-heart#comment-23920336
Remakes can be handled differently due to different angles and intentions and changes from the original, but Chinese Empress clearly must compare everything and the Korean version is always inferior in every way. You can scroll down the drama page to see it all.
Then again, the profile of Chinese Empress states: Jdramas and Cdramas are life, the only real drama in this world (bold and underlined).
Chinese Empress doesn't reserve her disdain only for anything South Korean, and also mentioned Westerners on another drama page:
[8.6 on DB, more than 13thousand people rated it, becoming the most high ranking drama in 2025. Western people are sleeping on this, but I'm glad people are recognising it and the great work cast and crew did. My heart aches for Chinese people who had to endure all this.
Jiang Qilin, Zhang Yu and Yin Zheng are doing a great job ]
https://kisskh.at/785144-731#comment-24544162
Meanwhile, I see in a comment to Bill Dew four days ago on this drama page "Loving Strangers", she also stated:
[ I like IU as actress in the original too, but her characters was too shallow and bad i did not like it. This remake is far more realistic, intense, depressing because it's the real tone of the drama.]
https://kisskh.at/748667-wo-de-da-shu#comment-24840054
Multiple viewers took issue with her comments on more than one drama page. I believe that says enough about any kind of engagement with Chinese Empress, and I hope this helps.
[ A significant number of viewers will say there is no romance in the original K-drama. There are also a significant number of viewers of the original K-drama who say it's ultimately a journey of two very different people overcoming their personal hurdles and becoming friends to finally be free and resolve issues they each needed to tackle, resonating as a rare love story without romance (in the sense of romantic portrayals and tropes commonly expected by viewers for romance). ] - This implies that viewers of the original have different views, including the fact that a love story happened but without romance, as per the descriptions I expounded on.
You can have a love story without romance. This is important because if people expect romance, then they will have the wrong idea.
There is a love story for "My Mister", only it's not what a lot of people would expect for a love story especially if you are the type to link romance as a must-have to be considered a love story (I don't know if you're that type).
tvn Asia is run by Warner Bros agreeing to adhere to the license agreement of CJ ENM, CJ ENM being a South Korean entertainment and retail company.
I will also quote the caption that tvn asia's commercial feature featured on-screen for the commercial feature at 3:00. It states for everyone to read "An intriguing age-gap romance between Lee Sun Kyun and IU)". You can watch their entire youtube segment that I linked in my original comment.
If you disagree with the official commercial feature by tvn Asia being aired in line with their parent South Korean entertainment company to promote "My Mister" before airing as I have shared from 2018, you can take it up with them but I'm sure they know what they were doing.
Also, the ending for episode 16 of "My Mister" was perfect. The ML had broken up with his wife, which we see from the photos being displayed and more importantly, what he said. At 1 hour 25 minutes, he said "my kid and my kid's mom" when speaking about his son before he got cut off. He used "ae-umma". During the previous episodes, he had saved his wife as "chib-saram" on his mobile phone. One can say "wife" in multiple ways in hangeul, such as chib-saram (집사람) in a traditional manner, a-nae (아내 ), manura (마누라), waipu (와이프), etc
"ae-umma" in a casual context says it all about what Dong-hoon's situation is, when he meets Ji-an again after a one-year time-skip.
This remake has to be assessed solely on its own merits, to match the title of the remake drama (I don't know why they used "Loving Strangers" when that's not what the mandarin title means).
Hope this helps you.
You know you're hooked when I forget that I'm not in the drama XD
Episode 25 makes me very happy with so many little details to history. Episode 26 was full of one-on-one heartfelt exchanges, many different types of motives both touching and scheming. Episode 27 dashed my hopes for a certain attempt to succeed. Episode 28 is full of questions and how to counter questions. Episode 29- Will 15 remaining episodes be enough to wrap things up wonderfully?
I wouldn't consider your observations to be at the level of a PR post, simply a well-phrased opinion. You did the same when posting a recent summary about several of the cast doing their own ADRs: https://kisskh.at/760693-ya-xi#comment-24841970
Thank you for your observations. If and when you write a review for this drama, I would be interested to read :D
If you're praising Dai Xu's performance as Pei Zhen and not intending a romantic angle as per that definition, then you don't have 2ML Syndrome. You can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd say praising a performance of an actor for being good/nuanced/excellent and explaining why isn't offensive, unless someone wants to take your opinion personally in a negative light for whatsoever reasons. If a viewer cannot differentiate between an actor and the role being carried out as a performance and hence takes offence, the problem isn't yours but the viewer who needs a reality check.
I always need my leads or SML/SFLs to have a certain skill acting level. If they can't nail it, I don't care if they win popularity awards because that means zilch in long-term concerns they might have about the impact of their craft and filmography being timeless, when they eventually leave the industry. Xing Fei gave a fantastic portrayal as Ning SuSu in "This Thriving Land", and I adored her as the younger sister to Yang Mi's character.
I would like to see Chen Xing Xu as a complex villain at some point, because that would be intriguing. Dai Xu has shown he can do this well enough. You'll enjoy both of them not getting along XD Frankly, just like them both. I'm happiest when I'm enjoying performances of the ensemble cast being dimensional with depth (good and evil characters), just like "The Guardians" and "River Sunset".
Both are swoon-worthy, be it Chen Xing Xu or Dai Xu. I'm on a modern drama/period drama kick, so not in the mood for historical dramas. The stepbrothers in this drama (Xiao Zhiyu and Pei Zhen) look good in glasses and are executing their differences well.
Dai Xu is doing a good job with his acting: https://kisskh.at/760693-ya-xi#comment-24839670