blue_moon

oh, so the book is definitely NOT a romance, even though ming sheng and qingyu like each other. they don't hold hands even once, let alone kissing, lmao. they only get together in the last 10 lines of the last chapter of the book. it's the definition of "slow burn". there is another female character that kind of has complex feelings for ming sheng in the book, but she's not annoying and knows he likes qingyu (and she's very close with qingyu, so she never tries anything). the drama is going to change a lot of things and focus way more on the romance, with kissing scenes etc, but those romantic scenes are not in the novel, so i can't really answer you (but i'm sure they'll keep the slow burn aspect). but you should keep in mind that it's not a youth romance drama like when i fly towards you at ALL, it deals with very dark subjects and characters. it's a thriller, before anything else.

spoil you about what? i've read it

yes

yep, definitely!

@GraceLee said it perfectly. I understand not wanting to watch dramas with heavy themes and I respect it but if you ever want to make an exception, then Reborn should be it. At least, if the show is as good as the novel!

most novels and shows don't dare touching that kind of subjects because they are very dark and hard to handle, but this one did such a good job. that's why i'm so eager to watch the show. the book was definitely devastating and very realistic, with little-to-no romance (but insane chemistry between the characters). the show has so many more ming sheng/qingyu scenes, and just for that, i'm hyped!

when the novel/show starts, her sister is already dead. everyone speaks as if she deserved her death because she was a trouble maker who seduced and had sexual relationships with men, even as a minor (she was really beautiful). there are rumors about her having AIDS because of that. the truth is she was sexually assaulted by their older cousin. he groomed her and they were basically going out together when she was a child (and he, an adult). she ended up pregnant with his child (as a minor) and finally told her parents about it but they did everything to hide it (in order to "protect" her reputation) and made her have an abortion. the sister killed herself while in the hospital, if i'm not wrong, but it was not her first attempt at killing herself (though no one knew). i don't know if the plot will stay the same in the show, as incest is very taboo. maybe it's going to be censured or toned down. the novel is very dark (but a masterpiece).

not necessarily "bad", but the actress doesn't want to kiss (understandable) meanwhile her character is supposed to be very brazen and flirty. so it's very weird to watch a drama where the characters are supposed to be steamy and not see a single authentic kiss scenes (instead, we have weird cuts). the gap between what we're told (their dialogues) and what we're showed (no intimate scene) is disturbing

the script has only 28 episodes? then why did they plan for 40 episodes?

the plot on mdl does say the whole plot of the book lol. everything is spoiled

As someone said it before me, the romance is a small part of the drama so if you're watching it only for the romance, you won't like it. But to answer your questions :
1. They get together officially in episode 28
2. They break up in episode 30 until the episode 35 but there is no big drama, they still interact and care for each other and they have a good reason for breaking up (it makes sense with the story and the characters)
3. Depends on what you call a "time skip". Several months do go by quite quickly, but no there is no "one year later" or "six months later".
4. I guess you could say they reconcile in episode 35, though I feel like there were never truly mad at each other
5. There is a second male lead but he never confesses directly, the FL acts as if she doesn't know, and overall he knows he has no chances because she has always liked the same guy and everyone knows about it
6. No exes
7. Happy ending, but a little bit "rushed" due to the fact that the drama was made to be 40 episodes instead of 38. Still a perfect ending though.

Thank you so much for your answer! This is exactly what I wanted to know.

Thank you for your comment, it made me want to watch it! I actually started the show without knowing anything about the relationship dynamics, but now I'm in episode 5 and I'm wondering if there is actually a love triangle/SML situation later, because I can hardly imagine Xiao Bo and Qiqi having romantic feelings toward each other, and I would find it kind of weird, tbh. Could you tell me if their relationship stays platonic through the show? I feel like I need to prepare myself if their relationship turns romantic, or it's going to stop me from enjoying the show haha

Yeah, another thing that doesn't make sense is Wanghe saying "i'm already in my thirties" (in the scene where Fenghua & him are back at school, searching for what they wrote on their desk). But this happens in 2015 ? so he should be 25. I wonder if it's a translation mistake ?

My analysis of the first 28 episodes (spoilers ahead) :

If there's anything excellent about this drama, it's how deep and complex the characters are. I feel like most people who watch the drama (or at least, who comment it), misunderstand the characters a lot. While watching this show, you musn't take everything at face value, you have to analyze their actions and dialogues to actually know the truth.
A lot of people hate on the present's wanghe, saying he doesn't deserve Fenghua, or even that he doesn't like Fenghua. I even read a few people stating he looked down on her and thought he deserved more. The last episodes have showed how wrong they were : he, in fact, thinks she deserves better than him and what he can offer.
While I agree that Wanghe is not perfect, you have to remember that it's not a romance drama, it's a life drama. He's flawed and realistic. The only characters with little to no flaws is Fenghua, hence the feeling that she deserves better than him. But what you guys forget is that Fenghua is a smart girl ; she knows what she wants. There's a reason why she loves Wanghe and wants to be with him ; who are we to question that and think we know better what she deserves? She deserves to get what she wants, and what she wants is Wanghe.
I'm really fascinated at how the show is showing women struggles in a very subtle way (through Fenghua's mother, who always has to be the "bad one" because her husband is a coward who doesn't know how to speak up ; or Wanghe's mother, who has been through a lot without her husband noticing anything, just because he was obsessed with his own broken dreams ; or Xingchi's mother, who is hit by her husband, yet he's still a loved man in the community ; or Haikuo's mother, who had to settle and give up on her dreams when she got pregnant).
I saw a lot of people saying that the drama didn't write its female characters well, and that it showed that the director was a man. I totally disagree. Every man in this show (except Wanghe) is convinced that Fenghua went to Beijing for him and him only ; that she has no ambition, except getting him. Haikuo says the sole reason why she doesn't want to work with him is because she knows it would break her chances at going out with him. Wanghe's father tells him that she's there only for him. Overall, most men think that, but that's not the drama miswriting women characters. That's just the drama being realistic. Yes, in reality, most men will think that women have no ambitions. Most men, especially if they know a woman loves a man, will think that her whole life's decisions are about him.
This week's episodes show that every male character who said that about Fenghua were, in fact, wrong. They misunderstood her exactly how most men will misunderstand women. You need to analyze the drama to notice that what the men say about the women in this show isn't representative of what the women actually are. And I need to hightlight here that the only male character who hasn't mistaken Fenghua is Wanghe. He never thought she came to Beijing only for him, and he has always known she had her own ambitions. That's also why he doesn't pity her like the other male characters do. Sure, it wouldn't hurt if he were more soft to her, but he's also the only male character of the show who doesn't underestimate her. He does offer his help sometimes, but she's the one refusing it.
I'm also fascinated by how complex Wanghe is. He has always been very ambitous but lacked self-confidence. He can be both very foolish and very smart, very attentionate and very harsh. I know that most people and the characters themselves are convinced that Wanghe liked Siyi when they were children, but I disagree with that. Wanghe had definitely a soft spot for her, and it's understandable. She was "everything a girl should be" (soft, vulnerable, quite, kind) and Wanghe, as a very protective character, had what I call the savior syndrome. Don't forget how his father is, always saving everyone and being there for everyone. He grew up seeing that and obviously thought it was his role to do that too. I think that's what made him so soft and attentive to Siyi, while Fenghua didn't had that vulnerable side to her. That's not love, but I understand why every character has mistaken that for love, and I wouldn't be surprised if Wanghe himself mistook that as such ; as a teenager, it's easy to misunderstand your own feelings.
In today's episodes, he said he fell in love with Fenghua three years ago. Well, I've noticed hints of him being in love with Fenghua way before that. When they were teenagers already, despite him being harsh to her sometimes and speaking as if she annoyed him, he was very protective of her and included her in every single of his future plans. Don't forget he's the one who went straight to hit the photographer when Fenghua's photos were out, and how he didn't care missing the Gaokao and staying in prison if it meant avenging her. He even scolded his parents for accepting to give him money, all because he hated that man's guts so much he'd rather stay in prison for weeks/months than give him what he wants. As ambitious and cocky as he was, he was ready to sacrifice his future for her.
Also, what makes me question Wanghe's feelings toward Siyi is that scene when Fenghua directly asks him if Siyi is also part of the future he imagines. He doesn't even understand what she implies there, and tells her that Siyi isn't made for business. Only when Fenghua asks him if he imagines himself in a relationship with Siyi later does he actually understand what she means, and look at his reaction there : he laughs as if it's absurd. Now, if we look into that... Wanghe has always said he only regarded Fenghua as a brother. If that was true, why would he deny having feelings for Siyi in front of her? Why would he tell her she watches too much soap operas and dismiss the idea?
To me, either he knew he didn't love Siyi that way and actually thought that was absurd, or he thought he loved Siyi that way, but having Fenghua ask it directly to him made him uncomfortable because he unconsciously already had romantic feeling for Fenghua.
I know that every character in this drama takes for granted Wanghe's feelings for Siyi, but I feel like we have a lot of clues that his feelings toward her were only those of a man who wants to save her. I wonder if the drama will adress it at some point, or if they'll keep saying he did love Siyi. I don't buy it anyway.
I also want to point out that, even if Wanghe seems quite arrogant and bossy in this week's episodes (especially in episodes 23 & 24), he's the one who still blames himself for Siyi's grandma & little brother's deads. He may give the impression that he's very confident, but he blames himself very easily and often needs someone to remind him he's a capable person. I was also (and still am) quite annoyed by his capitalistic point of views in episodes 23 & 24, but given how ambitious he's always been, I thought it made sense for him to think like that. That's exactly what Fenghua tells him. Discovering in episode 25 that the reason why he's so obsessed with money is not because he's greedy but because he wants to make Fenghua happy actually touched me so much. It makes sense to believe that a couple needs to be rich to be happy ; he has seen his parents arguing about money over and over again. It's so coherent with his character to think like that and to be crazy about money not for himself, but for the one he loves. It also proves wrong to anyone who thinks that Fenghua deserves better than him. While he's not perfect and needs to mature, he's very much deserving of Fenghua's love and he does his best to live up to it.
Another point that makes this show exceptionally good is how the children unwillingly take some of their parents traits. Xingchi is the best exemple of that : he despises his father, but his violent demeanor when he feels inferior to Wanghe or Fenghua is exactly like his father's. Wanghe also look like his father : he literally wants his friends to work with him, like his father worked with Fenghua's father. He wants to make them rich, like his father wanted to make the whole neighbourhood rich. Haikuo, too, took his father's romantic behaviors. His father definitely is the most romantic and soft dad of the show, and Haikuo is like that too. Chenrui and his father also have a lot of common points, both being passionate about their job and romantic.
Of course, they're not *exactly* like their parents, and that's exactly why I say it's beautifully done. It's subtle. Willingly or not, the children are influenced by how their parents behave, and they need to work on themselves to not reproduce their mistakes. I think I've never seen a drama that showed how children can reproduce their parent's behaviors without realizing it (and I've seen a lot of dramas, lol).
Anyway, I feel like Northward is one of the best dramas I've ever seen so far. The writing is just so subtle, complex and deep. The characters are realistic and easy to misunderstand if you don't analyze their behaviors. Not only does it show everyday life's struggles, but it emphasizes women's struggles in a very subtle way. I hope the remaining episodes will be as excellent as the first 28 episodes have been.

Thank you! I'll c/c it here so people can read it without the link

Yeah, that's literally what I said in my message haha

They break up when he finds out she's been cheating on him.

She definitely is, but I like how they explained it. Through her dialogue, we understand that while she's wrong for cheating on him, she needs money, not just because she's material, but also because as a woman, she needs to feel secure, and money is the only way to achieve that. Of course a man wouldn't care if he has to take a taxi or public transports, he doesn't fear for his life. Things are different for women, for whom everything is more dangerous and more exhausting. I do not support the way she handled things (she should've communicated with him more and not cheat on him), but I understand why she needs a rich man. The writer could've chosen the easy path and blame the woman for being an inconsiderate brat, but instead they showed that if women are material, it's also because poor women suffer more than poor men. Very interesting.

I don't think so. As they've been showing it in the last episodes, Huazi is tired. She has been fighting in Beijing for six years, with no break, all because she was dreaming of a better future, and now that future may never come. It's completely coherent for a character who spent her whole fighting, to be tired at some point. To just want to rest. Nobody is unbeatable. On the contrary, I was thinking Huazi was a bit too perfect to be realistic (unlike the other characters). Now she's finally showing a very realistic and human side : she's tired and needs to rest. She doesn't see the point in fighting anymore. She needs time to get her motivation back, and a lot of support too, but she's too independant to ask for support. It'll come with time.