apocalib

I think one of the biggest issues is that the writer or editor didn't really cut the scenes properly. There's a difference between devoting 10 minutes to one plot and devoting 30 minutes. They really could've cut at least an episode's worth of airtime in some places.

At this point, it's also getting a bit predictable to me, lol. No wonder ZYL complained about the writing as well...

The amount of times 臭丫头 was uttered is increasingly turning it into a term of endearment for me now, lol. Meeting Ah Fei is starting to turn into a death sentence for all those Jianghu experts as well, which is to be expected and very common wuxia but I lol at how I can literally add the skull emoji to each one of them as soon as they come into contact with her. XY is right, if he was really that scared of dying, he would've stayed far, far away from her T_T

At this point, my finger is always on the fast forward key. It's not even just the pacing but the way they spliced the story together. On the plus side though, I do like ZYL and WYB in their roles. I think they're doing well and I'm interested to see which enemy will be the one to force XY to show his hand. I adore wuxia for its grandness and large cast, and this drama reminds me why I usually wait until AFTER a wuxia has finished airing to watch because inevitably, there are always scenes and characters and plots that I don't care for in wuxia series, lol.

Also think that this does to show the NTRA was right in trying to limit the number of episodes of a series cos sure, the more series the are, the more the broadcasting companies can make off of the drama but sometimes, a story can be told in less episodes in a concise manner for the better. For ex: Joy of Life. IMO, some of the best writing (recently anyway) and came in at 46 episodes.

Agreed! I think both ZYL and WYB are doing really well with their respective roles but its the writing that's letting them down. ZYL did hint at this but I was hoping for the best....

Watched today's episodes and surprise of all surprises, the pacing is still an issue. I have no problem with long wuxia stories, I've grown up watching tons of Jin Yong adaptations so I can handle 80 episodes of dragging crap out but this pattern of having something exciting happen for 10 minutes only to then sandwich that between 30 minutes of slow paced meandering is not it.

I truly, truly hope that it gets better bc I really love the idea of a strong female wuxia character being able to take on the various injustices without having to be a perfect princess. Here's to hoping things get better cos we're still technically only 1/4 of the way through the entire series and I can give that leeway to setting the story off...

Point taken RE: adaptation but what I was trying to convey was more that Priest is the type to go 1 -1.5- 2-2.5-3 etc etc to reach 10 vs how some might go from 1-2-3 etc. It's not so much that the scriptwriters & cutting favorite scenes but just that the plot might need this many steps. However, I will say that all the books I've read have never FELT as slow as the drama goes. The pacing is off from the start but it does start to pick up a little now that we're in the 10s. It's a very wuxia-esque drama though, I guess. Sort of echoing back to Jin Yong in that it's quite plot heavy and slow to start. I also hope it gets much better as the story itself at its core is a good one.

I think it's important to remember that there are 51 episodes and like some others have said, in a setting like this, and in Priest novels, things don't always tend to happen all at once. I haven't read You Fei but having read numerous other Priest novels, she tends to layer a lot into her stories and the romance is typically second to plot. Things are happening in the drama, just not exactly with the main couple and I can see that they're trying to lay the groundworks for other things to happen later on.

All of this being said, the production quality is iffy and they definitely rushed this to air at the end of 2020, for whatever reason I'm not sure of because I think the interest in this drama would've still been there if they aired it next year instead.

I have zero issues with ZYL's acting, she's doing well as Ah Fei and I honestly don't look at her and think, "oh, she looks OLD and shouldn't be acting opposite a 20 something year old male actor". Older male actors get to act opposite young female leads ALL the time. She's a good actress and honestly, if anything, it's the acting (from the rest of the cast, especially the experienced ones) that has been making this watchable.

I'll hold off on deciding to drop or not until halfway through I think. Won't lie, I do FF through some of the episodes but it's not so bad, just possibly not living up to my expectations.

Super excited to start this! Loved Misaeng and love Mark Chao. I was waiting for it to hit the half-way point so I don't need to agonize and wait each week for new episodes.

Yep! It was well-planned and the execution was great for the most part except, again, with the ending. They went further in-depth than I thought they would in regards to certain mental/psychological issues, so for that I applaud them. Plus, they explored so many different familial relationship themes.

I'm sooo impressed by Steven. I didn't watch Skate Into Love as I'm not usually one for cutesy Cdramas but I'm definitely going to give it a watch now. Every scene he was in and every emotion he displayed, whether it was anger or sadness or joy, was spot on. Definitely a fan of his now!!! I've always liked Yang Tong Shu, but this truly was such a hateful character and she did it so well. Her switching between the meek mother that only wanted the best for her children (when outsiders were present ofc!) and the manipulative, unreasonable mom, was excellent. Truly, the older generation supporting cast was A+++++

I really, really detest using death/accidents/suicide as a means of asking for forgiveness because what has been discussed?? Nothing. LX and Chen Ting didn't have any sort of conversation about her many years of torture. I know Chinese/Asian families aren't big on discussing emotions etc but this show seems to make a point of saying that such conversations are important so it's a real pity that LX and Chen Ting didn't actually have a proper talk.

I really enjoyed the familial aspects for this show, like you said, it's one of the better family-themed shows in general, not just this year!

Definitely finish it! Even though the plot drags a bit in the later episodes, the acting is phenomenal and worth watching just for the fantastic performance in many of the episodes by Steven! Li Ba doesn't get as many scenes as he deserves towards the end though :(

I've got the same thoughts as you, it's really unfortunate when the drama has been solid since the start. In my opinion, it got a bit messy ever since Chen Ting showed up. They spent a couple of episodes on her and yet the ending for her (and LX) was wrapped up over the course of what, twenty minutes? Also the way they gave her an out basically when she decided to leave her kids behind (AGAIN?!) and commit suicide. That's one of my most detested tropes that dramas use as an excuse for forgiveness.

Also super bummed we didn't get to see more than two scenes of He Mei and Li Ba getting reacquainted. I mean, I get the whole "twenty years engagement" joke but y'all going to get married after two conversations in the noodle shop and a book store date????? That's not very realistic considering the generally realistic tone of the drama.

I don't mind spending time on the side characters since the show has done that from the start re: Tang Can and MY but they didn't really put the same effort into the main characters' endings.

I've got a lot of thoughts now that the drama has reached its end but first and foremost, a round of applause to the excellent acting by the core cast. I also applaud the scriptwriters for tackling many serious issues re: family bonds and parenting.

It's a solid drama and one I would probably recommend to friends, with a few caveats and warning for the romance. If I could compare: it's sort of like a book that would be excellent for a book club because there's a lot that can be discussed about it but it might not be a book I keep on my book shelf for re-reading.

Honestly a bit let down by the last two episodes and felt that generally speaking, the last 10+ episodes of this drama could've used some editing and better pacing. The loose ends that they "tied up" haven't really been tied up that neatly and I would've appreciated much more thought put into Li Ba's relationship. I won't even mention Chen Ting because that's a whole other rant, lol. The show-writers either got sloppy towards the end or they simply wanted to end it happily, which I understand completely and wanted a happy ending myself but it's not plausible considering how much time they spent showing us viewers the why/how, they didn't wrap it up neatly, imo. (I think this is why on doubt, the show started with such stellar ratings and towards the middle, it dropped).

Stars of the show:
- Steven and his phenomenal acting. An amazingly natural actor. I know that stars usually use "special appearance" since top billing is a thing in Cdramas but Steven was the absolute star actor out of the younger generation cast for me which is saying a lot because Seven is equally as impressive an actor normally speaking
- Tu Song Yan aka Li Ba who did an even more phenomenal job in his role and absolutely nailed his character. His actor was nuanced and layered, and it's true what they say about him, if he's in the cast of your drama, you have nothing to worry about

Fairly certain he won't be doing as his mom wishes. He seems pretty mad at his mom for inviting his colleague over and besides, there's got to be a happy ending with a family/romance drama like this!!! Have hope!

Prepare the tissues!!

LX: Dad, I haven't dreamt of my sister in a while. Do you think she's already forgiven me? Have I already repaid everything that I owe Mom?

Oh god, LX's conversation with his father is heartbreaking...poor kiddo.

I think something the show constantly tries to tell us is that there is more to being a mother than giving birth to a child and more to being a father than sharing one's sperm (for lack of a better phrase, lol).

Chen Ting is a mother by name only. Li Ba is both a father by name and by nature. He Mei, Ling Ba, MY's parents and Tang Can's parents, despite some misgivings and issues, have always wanted the best for their children even if the end didn't necessarily justify the means.

Truthfully, Chen Ting does not deserve any sort of redemption nor do I think she'll get any. Sometimes as children, one just has to accept that their parents are not good for them, and let them go. LX has to part ways with his mother and realize that his so-called "debt" has been repaid and that if he continues the life he has right now, his mother will end up ruining his life. Enough is enough.

I really enjoyed JJ's scene with LX's sister. Scenes like that are what I liked about this series in the first place.

I'm really glad ZQ managed to speak some sense into her and made her understand that not only was she being unreasonable and doing the exact opposite of what she was trying to do when she lashed out, but that she was slowly becoming exactly like her mother. Lol, guess the whole "You and your mom think exactly the same and expect the worst of others" got through to her. Nothing like being told you're turning out to be like the person you really dislike to make you change your attitude/thinking. All jokes aside, I'm glad that she's starting to break free of the restraints her mother has placed on her and thinking for herself.

Also, super happy for Tang Can. Her hard work has paid off and she's finally doing what she enjoys. A stage play really is perfect for her! She's got the experience considering how much acting she did as a kid and it's just nice to see things going well for her for once.

The so-called "extension" of Cdramas basically just means they'll be cutting short the time for each episode so they can air more episodes. That's why it seems like it was half an episode or that nothing really happens, lol.

I agree with one very valid point that you've made and that's that she's underaged. I don't care for age gaps personally but she's literally a teenage girl, still going through puberty and still maturing. ZQ is a grown man, and that's not cute at all to me. I find people often think it's "sweet" or "romantic" if relationships like this happen in dramaland only because they're both attractive.

That being said, I don't think it's necessarily romantic between them. I think ZQ is a stand-in brother for LX's sister since LX really isn't doing a great job of being a brother himself.

I agree with one very valid point that you've made and that's that she's underaged. I don't care for age gaps personally but she's literally a teenage girl, still going through puberty and still maturing. ZQ is a grown man, and that's not cute at all to me. I find people often think it's "sweet" or "romantic" if relationships like this happen in dramaland only because they're both attractive.

That being said, I don't think it's necessarily romantic between them. I think ZQ is a stand-in brother for LX's sister since LX really isn't doing a great job of being a brother himself.