deedee2344

*Love Letter to Romance on the Farm* [No spoilers]

Not every drama is going to be everyone's cup of tea. For me, I can't remember the last time I loved a drama this much. As a mid-30's woman, most of the dramas out there don't do it for me. It's bad or mid acting, contrived/ridiculous/illogical plots, poor writing, lazy (or non-existent) character development, pandering to idols and over-romanticized notions, overwrought tropes galore, and unrealistic/overblown (and sometimes downright toxic) romantic behaviors. Most feel like just cash cows; the art of storytelling is lost. Slice of life dramas are too heavy for me so, for years now, I've been watching drama after drama but finding most inane.

Then, here comes this drama. The characters - every single one of them - is so well-written that they feel like real, live people from the first episode. Ironic, no?, that these are people who are supposed to be NPCs have more life in them than any non-first or non-second lead character in every other drama? Say what you will of the family and what they do (I won't argue with you on that one), but the fully fleshed character development for each of them is so good that they all act in line with their character. That's some incredible thought put into acting and storywriting.

The FL is one of the most realistically badass and fully fleshed out characters I've ever seen. She doesn't feel like a character to me - she feels like someone who exists out there in the world. I want to see more of this in dramaland. Because this is what truly inspires me in real life. To persevere as Man'er does, to navigate tricky situations as she does, to be smart and kind as she does, to be guarded at times, to be brave at times, to be feel how it feels to receive love at times, to forgive at times. To grow and transform.

I also really admire this director. I will be following her work for sure. She does such an excellent job with allowing us to see all characters' emotional beats (in a look, a glance, a hand or eye movement), no matter how small, so that, whether you hate them or love them, you can understand their motivations, why they act the way they do, and maybe even empathize with some, if only for a short moment. She shows their flaws and also their humanity. And she does this with every single character that has a name.

I also greatly appreciate the director's attention to detail. There were so many moments where I could feel that she truly cares about this story and her craft - and how much it enriches the story. I can't remember them all, but there is one (not a spoiler) where someone says that the pancakes are getting burnt. Then, as the pancakes are being plated in the background, you can actually see that they are burnt. This is TOTALLY a detail that most productions would absolutely ignore but it's little touches like that that completely immersed me in every second of this story and continued to immerse me for the entire 26.5 episodes. This is all intentional on the director's part - she wants you to feel as Man'er feels. Are you in a virtual world or are you watching a drama or are you just experiencing life whether it's real or not and does that even matter at the end of the day?

Overall, for me, this drama is nothing short of art. (Even the opening and closing credits are art in of themselves.) I can understand if a lot of people don't agree. For me, this was a very well-told and well-executed story, by a director who truly cares, with an excellent cast (that's 10+ people!) that each made me invested (good or bad) in every single one of them, along with one of the most meaningful character arcs that I've seen in dramaland. I thank this cast and crew from the bottom of my heart for bringing this to life, so that I could experience, at times, cathartic bawling; howling laughter; the most tender of love between mother and daughter; anger and grief and joy and shock and judgement and compassion towards imperfect people but nonetheless watching and appreciating them grow in ways big and small.

P.S. I added my thoughts on the VR concept in the comment below as a spoiler.

P.P.S. I also think the politics in the drama is incredibly smart (at least to me, someone who doesn't think politically at all). I was kept on my toes to see how the leads would solve a problem and manipulate people and circumstances. I found it all to be clever and thoughtful writing.

As someone who works in tech, a CEO would DEFINITELY want to act like an NPC to see how testers would respond. Remember that Man'er is a beta tester - the CEO would want to create the most ideal environment for testing how people behave in a virtual world, which would not be accomplished by introducing people from the real world. Also, CEOs are high up - they're not there to be in the weeds of the work/story; it's very easy for him to say, I want to be a beta tester, so don't tell me what the story is. All to say, ML was definitely pretending to be an NPC, as shown in the subtle acting in the moments where he doesn't react to her real world musings (as you noted), when he says "that actually hurt" in the first episode, and also where he purposefully asks follow-up question to test how she would respond.

But I think what I appreciate about the VR setup is that SHE changed; that's the most meaningful part. I think the VR guy who offboarded her in the last episode said essentially the thesis of the show when Man'er asked if all the people were NPC's - "Whether they're real of not, it's your experiences."

Yeah they sort of forgot about him, but I feel like their son was primarily a plot device to further show the discrepancy between how much they care for their son versus their daughter.

A Google-translated version: https://www.wattpad.com/amp/1245919565

Agreed, the drama makes it very confusing. Because they're trying to make her more palatable, the mother's motives and values are not clear and it's hard to understand her behavior, e.g. why be so sweet towards Yang Yang (esp in front of CSS), why give up the daughter in the first place, etc. etc. etc. If it's motherly guilt, I'm not feeling it. The show only briefly and indirectly mentions bits about how the past 15 years have been for the mother, but I don't have a clear sense of what is going on in her heart to map any of her behaviors to.

Internalized misogyny is very real.

“Internalized misogyny does not refer outright to a belief in the inferiority of women. It refers to the byproducts of this societal view that cause women to shame, doubt, and undervalue themselves and others of their gender.”

Actually I read somewhere that they purposely CGI'ed her face in WRTW to make it more pointed and less round.

Have you seen her in The Long Ballad? She’s been typecast a lot unfortunately but her role in TLB opened my eyes to her talent. In the BtS she mentions how different she is from her TLB character and yet she really brought this very different character completely into life. Her characters arc is also so well written and satisfying.

Very well said.

I agree with you. He was self-conscious.

Trailers and other snippets definitely show parts in second half. There are some bits that I believe might even come from the very last scene of the entire drama. 😳🥹

Yesssssssssss!!! CSS is such a badass in these two episodes. So, so proud of how she’s blooming - and also so obvious now how she and LBY are a great match. So much compatibility - courageous, strategic, quick, sharp, military know-how, step in and get it done, no nonsense.

Also, hot damn Wu Lei. 🥵

Should be three brothers, if I understand correctly. The eldest brother is away somewhere.

OMGGGG link please?!?!

Yes should be later Han dynasty. Love the clothing and hair! Wish more dramas are set during this period. https://youtu.be/0I-993CMJyE

The book repeatedly mentions how white and beautiful his skin is, like jade LOL.

Yes favoring the cousin is the most twisted and heartless part for me. It feels like what immature teens would do, but she’s a grown woman!! You cannot tell me that she doesn’t know what she’s doing. I believe that any mother worthy of the name would be cognizant of how her child might perceive what she’s doing. It’s cruel. But, then again, she offered up her daughter so readily when grandma and second aunt demanded that a child be left behind (instead of the son, OF COURSE). Didn’t even put up a fight - within the historical context (sexist culture of males over females, which is still well and alive today TBH), sure, I’ll give it a pass. But the drama hasn’t exactly shown that the mother is super duper torn up about it or the grief or however she’s felt in the past 15 years. In fact, the drama has reiterated that she knew exactly what has been going on with her daughter and basically has done nothing about it!

I appreciate this perspective, thank you - but I still don’t under why she favors the cousin so openly and blatantly? That part doesn’t make sense to me. Is it some form of twisted guilt? Or “let’s make her jealous so that she’ll be a good daughter”? That part is truly what feels most twisted of all.

Ah I see, thank you!