apocalib

Yup! LX was right, they barely spoke in school and what really did she know about him? I'm glad MY realized later on as well that maybe what she liked was the act of liking someone and having a crush, not LX per se.

I also really like the conversation LJJ and ZQ had in the cafe. I'm so relieved to see that the love triangle is resolved now!

Sometimes, when the show writers get things right, they get things really right. I still really appreciate that LX apologized to MY because he did indeed have an ulterior motive for befriending MY and contacting her so often. I also appreciate the entire conversation MY and LX had. LX's right, MY is a good person, she's kind and she's got great qualities. She just needs to find her own self-worth and understand that it isn't a question of whether she's "good enough" for LX but that she wasn't the right one. Running theme in the show but, again it's the parenting aka her mom that's made her constantly question whether she's good enough to the point where towards the first person that was kind to her, that told her she was indeed good enough, she developed a crush on. Makes me sad :( Ah, MY....

Both their parents are very typically Chinese/Asian. MY's mom was always hyper focused on her studies and her ranking, and now that she's an adult, it's on MY's job. Tan Can's mom is ridiculous but as is her father for being so passive. If it wasn't because Tan Can wanted to give her parents a better life, she wouldn't have had to work so hard when she was in her schooling years and end up with no practical degree. All the parents in this drama, besides Li Ba (Ling Ba has improved but he was sooo passive as well and took the whole "what can I do? I'll just hide away and pretend this never happened" route too often that even the kids called him fairly useless, lol) are pretty much bad parents. They all had their own reasons at the time for abandoning their children, reasons that I can sort of understand, but they're still bad parents.

Hm, I don't know if I would call having a wide range of female characters being portrayed as manipulative, jealous and mostly psychotic, could be labelled as being not politically correct though? It shouldn't be classified as politics to have normal female characters, lol. But I don't think the writers are sexist at all, it's not as if the other female characters are being portrayed as weak or being used for purely eye candy purposes. In fact, I find that despite how troubling they are sometimes portrayed as, there's a lot of strength in them as well. LX's mother, as manipulative and terrible a mother that she is, had to deal with the loss of a child (PTSD for sure) and 100% that does not excuse the way she abandoned or treated/treats LX but it's understandable in a way that she was also suffering and LX's dad was pretty much useless.

HZQ's mother, clearly a struggling single-mother, was also having her own issues. Again, this does not excuse her for abandoning her own son but she did leave him with her mother and not Li Ba originally, so I will give her the benefit of the doubt in that maybe she had hopes she would come back for him, who knows, lol.

I actually forgot to add in my previous comment that I find Tang Can quite a strong character, tbh. She was a child actress that was clearly being taken advantage of by her parents as a cash cow, basically and while her current job isn't glamorous nor is it something that most people would brag about, it's a job nonetheless that she works hard at and she manages to earn her own keep. She's independent and a bit dim in some aspects but I respect her hustle!

The drama's been extremely clear all along with LX's feelings towards LJJ, I agree. He clearly developed feelings for her fairly early on. The area I feel that's more grey is that LJJ, unless it's cleared up in the upcoming episodes, has always though of both LX and HZQ as her brothers. She hasn't been shown in any of the flashbacks as having romantic inklings towards LX so I'm quite curious as to how the plot will continue as I want to see how LJJ realizes her feelings for LX aren't entirely sisterly. She had a very obvious different reaction to HZQ saying he wants to date her vs LX, which I can see is the drama sort of hinting but I hope that it's not one of those "LX stubbornly wears LJJ down until she dates him" type of scenarios. Like I said, I'm curious! It really depends on how the show handles that aspect for me because despite not having any blood relations and therefore being able to marry 100% legally without any sort of biological concern, they were raised as if they're siblings (although this is why I wouldn't mind LX as much as HZQ bc HZQ literally lived under the same roof as LJJ and they "share" the same father).

I'm not one to blame parents all the time either but there's no denying that the way parents choose to raise their children have a direct correlation with how the children grow up, this very drama tells us that point exactly. LX's sister is a clear example, seeing as how spoiled she was as a child and manipulated by both her grandmother and mother to stick to LX and encouraged by them to say (multiple times) that LX is not LJJ's real brother. And it's obvious that even in Singapore, the fact that her living situation is tense with her mother constantly bickering with LX and yelling at her, she has difficulty expressing herself in a "normal" manner. Drama also shows us the same with MY, under constant pressure from her mother when she was still in school causing her to develop self-esteem issues where she only ever blamed herself for matters even when clearly the onus was not on her. And in a very basic way, HZQ being raised by Li Ba obviously provided him with a much more nurturing and loving environment (outside of the fact that he wouldn't have to work when he was literally just a kid) that he wouldn't have had with his maternal grandmother/aunt, and I think it's that environment that directly impacted him and has caused him to grow up to be the way that he is now.

Formative years are formative years for a reason. While I don't think anything is ever black and white, and it's never 100% on the parents but there's no denying that the way one is raised has a direct effect on a child's psyche and development. Friends and one's own real-life experiences often changes and helps one develop as well.

Like I said in my previous comment though, I have no issues with LX's sister and don't think she's meant to be viewed as a bad person. I don't think this drama means to make anyone be viewed as solely bad in the sense that they're villains; just selfish. LX's birth mom and HZQ's birth father being prime examples of selfishness. LX's sister is still young and we can see how she's already grown up in terms of understanding her brother and even having a deeper understanding of her mother as well.

I have hopes that drama will right itself! I do think that the writers are extremely good with the family plot lines but I'm wary of what LX's mother might do and frankly, I am looking forward to a cathartic outburst by LX. When he finally can manage to let go of that baggage, I think we'll see a different side to him!

Seven has such a baby face, she's constantly playing teenage characters (and believably too!) when she's 30!! I find her a very charismatic actress and somehow, she magically is able to have chemistry with all the male leads of her dramas so far! It's amazing, lol.

lol, just went to watch her review since I follow her on YT as well and I def agree with many of her points. I didn't really pick up on the fact that most of the female characters besides LJJ are depicted in a bad way but now that she pointed it out, I notice it. Although I do think that HZQ's mom will come around (not that it excuses her abandoning ZQ as a child) and LX's younger sister isn't actually a bad person, she's just a product of her upbringing, imo.

Similarly, I started watching for Seven because I adore her and she's such an amazing actress and am so surprised by Steven Zhang's acting! He really has nailed HZQ down and like you said, that crying scene and the way he slowly becomes overwhelmed with heartbreak was top-notch. I love Song Wei Long, and this isn't an attack on him at all but it's really obvious that he's at a different level of acting compared to the other two, which is fine! He's a) younger and b) not a trained actor and c) not as experienced.

The acting overall for this series has been A+++ and honestly, if it weren't for the actors, a lot of the plots of this series would fall flat. For example, if Song Wei Long wasn't as handsome and swoon-worthy, a lot of his actions could be construed as creepy. They're also lucky in that the three siblings have a good rapport and chemistry together.

I'm apprehensive because the series started off really good and then turned a bit muddled with all the love lines added but I have faith with this cast.

ia with a lot of the points/character analyses that you made!

re: LJJ, i feel like part of it is also that they never really resolved the issue that first came up when her brothers left her. she was always brought up with the belief that they're her family and has said that her dad told her that as long as they treat each other like blood, it doesn't matter what others say because they therefore are blood but the fact is, when it came down to it, both LX and ZQ "chose" their "real" family over her. LJJ was quite immature when she was younger, partially bc she was spoiled by both LX and ZQ, and because she was the only girl in a household full of men. she never really had to do any chores since ZQ did them all and she wasn't responsible for anything bc LX took that mantle. she's grown up a lot since the time-skip and it's partially due to being away for college, living in her own space but also being her own person.. she didn't have LX to always look to to form an opinion based on what she should/shouldn't do and she didn't have ZQ to 100% always take her side.

i'm interested to see if they ever discuss the matter of them leaving bc it seems like the show is hinting at it with LX's mom and sister calling to ask when he'll be back and the fact that we actually haven't heard anything at all in regards to ZQ's dad expecting him. LJJ clearly still thinks that both her brothers might leave at any time and while I don't think an apology is necessary for them leaving since they were justified in what they did when they left, I wonder if LX/ZQ will do so regardless since I feel like they can't really move on from that (nor can LJJ move on from the fear that LX or ZQ might drop her again if their "family" needs them once more) until they discuss it.

100% with LX and his character growth. he clearly hides a lot of what he feels/goes through. ZQ said that ever since they were kids, LJJ was the one that LX talked to and told things to the most and I so hope they rekindle that confidant relationship. ultimately, I want to see LX acknowledge (verbally please, show!!) that his life was f'd up by his parents (mother esp but his dad was also to blame) and that he wasn't responsible for his younger sister's death and that he shouldn't have to bear the whole world on his shoulders. he blames himself for his sister's death and I remember his father saying how he became very quiet after the fact, mainly cos I guess as a kid, you'd want to be completely obedient after "messing up". it's obvious that he's back this time bc he wants to do things that make him happy and I hope when he is under pressure, he continues to make the choices that will bring him joy instead of doing what he thinks he has to do bc it's the "right" thing to do.

I'm sooo curious about ZQ actually. his dad seems to hint at his mom still being around and knowing where his mom works/lives. and I think we've seen from some posters that ZQ's mom ends up taking a family photo with the kids and Ling and Li Ba as well? I wonder if that's a hint that ZQ's mom ends up reconciling with Li Ba?? so many questions as well in regards to ZQ's time in England. he's said that he hated it there bc he didn't get along with his birth father/stepmom and that he found the language barrier and cultural difference hard, but I wonder if the show will focus mainly on ZQ's relationship/past with his mom vs his birth father. ZQ is such a GOOD kid. he's honestly, just so good. I think he has the strongest urge to stay a family and he'll do anything for them, so I'm curious to see where his storyline will go.

there's a lot I like about the show and how they build the rapport between the characters and the exploration between what it means to be a family/the bonds of family but, I think it's also important to note how each character suffers from abandonment issues in their own way. LX, when his mom left him, quite literally, to LJJ. ZQ was left first by his father, then by his mother (2x at that!!) and had to constantly live with the fear that his new family would leave him if he misbehaved or didn't act like the perfect son. LJJ's issues are from being abandoned by her bothers, her two rocks and support.

There's no episode on 8/18. It'll resume 8/19 with two episodes as normal!