amrita828

Ikr?
Not to mention the fact that, on a mere narrative level, the whole dream arc totally interrupted the plot flow. The characters in the dream are not the ones we started to care about, albeit with the same faces - a luke warm care on my part, to be honest, but still. I didn't care for that clam and her war god, so that when the 2 interacted and kissed I felt nothing at all. Enduring 5 whole episodes of silly sexual innuendos (the apple, the "dual-cultivation", the forced marriage) was neither romantic, nor sweet, nor titillating.

Ever wondered what kind of uproar that episode 14 would have caused, had the roles been reverse? If HE had drugged HER and even MUTED her so that she couldn't talk and then exacted his "husband marital rights" on her? There's one simple word describing such a scenario: rape. I don't care a dime whether he was in love with her: she didn't know, after all.
I feel kind of insulted too, as a viewer, that you seem to be the only one on MDL who had the honesty to address this issue - and other observations I'm totally in agreement with.

+100 for this review.

Finally someone is voicing my doubts about this drama.

I agree with you when you say you wished at some point someone had told them to stop. This show is like a fruit salad with all fruit known to mankind mixed together, so in the end one doesn't even recognize the taste of a single one. The logic is so messed up I'm watching without using my brain. For all the CGI they used, they are very sloppy in their editing: take the scene on the boat, for instance. She retreats to the brink, one more step and she's in the water, and yet a second later we see her running, running and again running to finally jump in the water! WHAT, she already was at the very end of the boat where the heck did she run???? There are so many such scenes, I'm honestly laughing like crazy while watching.
That's also the reason why I haven't dropped it yet: it's too outrageously entertaining.

The moral compass and characters motivations are the biggest problem, but it would take 3 pages to discuss them.

Thank you for this honest review.

Me too. The title is a little misleading. 🤭

I enjoyed the drama, but I enjoyed your review just as well.
Sherlock Sigmund da Vinci killed me, lol. A pity one can only upvote a review once.

Lol! I know what you mean. I think their penchant for fashion can be the worst double-edged weapon.

Regarding Binnie's older dramas, Secret Garden is another must, in my book. However, it's definitely a hit or miss: it's quite full of controversial scenes a generation Z may find cliche at best and unbearable at worst.

@Shannon Brown
Older dramas, especially older K-dramas, are much less politically correct than the later ones. If you have issues with things like wrist grabbing or stolen kisses you may find them hard to swallow. Yet, they often had much more solid scripts and created true toe-curling "tension" among the characters.

On my part, I agree with @seOulmate that Coffee Prince is a brilliant drama. It has one of the best collective alchemy and romantic chemistry I've ever watched and believe the way it was filmed and acted aged very well.

@Shannon
So you've never watched "Coffee Prince"? It's a true classic you can't possibly skip as a k-drama fan! 😁

P.S. I have tried Goblin... 3 or 4 times. My best achievement has been reaching episode 10 before dropping it for the fifth time. Can I join the "guilty club"? 😜

Thank you, Juno.
I realize I've been harsh on this one. I liked the first part a lot: it was original in its approach, that's probably why I was so disappointed in this one. "Petty teenager villains with unclear motives" - LOL. So true. :D

I couldn't agree more!

Thank you!
I am not as versed as you are in Chinese dramas and admit I have become quite fastidious, but this one was so badly written - and in part acted - I couldn't let it pass. :P

"You can skip all the rest because as foreshadowed by the eunuch theme, this drama has critical missing parts."

Lmao, this is priceless!
Fantastic review. With all those 10s and 9.5 I started thinking I was the one who missed parts... 😉

Hi Jo, it's been ages! Nice to see you back. :D
LOL, and here I thought the hight of unfunny comedy was Xiao Duo going to get her from the mausoleum, with maid and attendant eunuch departing barking like dogs and the two leads left to read each other's mind. :P

Wow, you complimented my review, but yours is just as well written and wonderfully on point.
I agree on everything - except the generous rating, of course. lol.

Thank you! :D
I can understand being a little upset, when we have loved something we all wished it were so for everyone.
This drama flaws however are so glaring and annoying, I simply couldn't remain silent.

Nah, I'd kill most of my leads. 😉

Thank you for your generous approval and always glad to be of service if I can spare you the headache of this drama, lol.

As for Gu Family Book, not long ago I was talking with my husband about Lee Seung Gi and I said: "you know, the one who played in Gu Family Book?"
And he: "of course! The one who found out the girl was a girl by touching her t*ts".
Trust men to remember the most trivial details... 🙄

I did watch LLTG. I believe I would have appreciated it more, had it not been sold as historical, or regarded as such. Everything in it is highly implausible except for the clothes. But it's very beloved, so don't let my comment deter you from watching and enjoying it. :)

Very true!
I have a bit of a sore spot when it comes to so called historical dramas/movies or even books. There's too much historical revisionism going on and fear to be politically incorrect. We can't apply our sensitivity and modern thinking to history: in so doing, we run the risk of denying horrible things actually happened. To minimize or, worse, ridicule the suffering of some (see women condition for instance), equals to an insult.
Again, this is not a critic to fictional shows, they can be highly entertaining.

P.S. The Red Sleeve is a beautiful drama with a deeper message than the "romantic" setting makes it out to be, imo.