Jess4163

Zhuang Xu's arc was very satisfying and true to his character: Similar to how hard he tried to deny/fight his feelings for XG, resisting to the very end until he lost her forever, he'll now find it impossible to forget her...haunted by his love for her forever.

He's truly a very conflicting and frustrating, albeit interesting character. I actually really enjoyed his entire arc as he felt very true to life: In real life, we often aren't able to conquer our annoying character flaws and will repeatedly suffer setbacks since it's not easy breaking personality traits cultivated from childhood.

Only, ZX's ultimate punishment was the most crippling blow: Losing the one person who ended up mattering to him the most. Ouch...he'll forever yearn for XG forevermore...

Yep. ZX's clearly sincere with his friends and coworkers. He actually has no problems nurturing a healthy relationship with most people. It's only when he's around XG that he's his own worst enemy. And that's because she makes him feel the most vulnerable. He's terrified of getting hurt and XG's the only one who can truly hurt him.

Lol, he really tried his best to fight his feelings and kill his love, but ended up failing miserably. By the time he finally decided to put himself out there, it's way too late. His character flaws are a cautionary tale about what happens when you allow your inferiority complex and insecurities to dictate your actions, ending up pushing away people you love the most.

Although there's many similarities btw them, there's one BIG noticeable difference: Unlike XG's father, ZX's actually very skilled and talented. He's very impressive in his field unlike XG's father, who only really shined when his much more talented wife was supporting him in the shadows. Without XG's mother's support, his "talents“ are nothing noteworthy, unlike ZX, who's actually brilliant on his own.

ZX may be a complete loser in love, but he's definitely a winner in his career.

Although I would not be interested in a man like ZX in real life, I can still see the appeal of a rich/handsome man, especially if he's not readily available. Many ladies love a challenge, especially if they become the special one that can fix said man...it's simply a romantic fantasy that's alluring. Just look at how many romance books with this theme sell like crazy...

Yep. Same here: One of the rare dramas where I'm very interested in the SML's story and character arc, but would never want him together with the FL. He simply doesn't deserve her because of his disastrous actions (understandable or not). When it comes to his love life, his entire approach was wrong, so he doesn't get to be rewarded for such failure.

But he does deserve to have a successful career since he's worked his butt off to elevate himself. His ending should be to achieve everything he's dreamed of when it comes to his career, but to be an utter loser when it comes to true love. I hope he's haunted by Xi Guang his whole life and never gets over her... that'll be a very satisfying end to his arc!!!

I can believe that, but at the end of the day, a smart guy like Zhuang Xu could have tried harder to do more research on the FL if he truly wanted to, but he simply didn't make that extra effort. At least in the early days, I feel part of him wanted all of Ye Rong's accusations to be true just so he can take the opportunity to get rid of his hated feelings. He hates being forced to confront his inferiority complex every time he interacts with the FL. He's also scared of liking someone too far above him. For a long time, he refused to acknowledge that he was drawn to Xi Guang. It took Xi Guang avoiding him (becoming more withdrawn) to finally cause him to face those feelings that just wouldn't die. And even then, he's unable to be direct and uses metaphors instead to express his feelings, believing Xi Guang will understand and can read his mind. He's a very conflicting individual and his own worst enemy when it comes to Xi Guang.

I'm LOVING everything about this drama, including the SML because he's a well fleshed out character. I've watched up until ep 15 and would like to do a more detailed analysis of his character.

The way I see it, there's a root cause for the majority of Zhuang Xu's actions toward Xi Guang: His low social standing stemming from his humble background.

He came from nothing and had to work for every single thing in his life without a moment of respite. This is practically the opposite of Xi Guang, who can afford to be much more laid back and carefree because her affluent circumstances made it so she never had to fight for survival.

Being that these two characters grew up in polar opposite environments, it's pretty realistic that they'd have a harder time interacting and understanding one another. One has to walk on eggshells while the other's constantly in a battle to prove themselves worthy.

I actually appreciate both Zhuang Xu and Xi Guang as well written characters. I love everything about Xi Guang (including her growth and struggles when trying to move on from her first love) and actually appreciate Zhuang Xu's realism. He's not an easy character to "like," but I never disliked him either because I find him interesting.

Zhuang Xu's a very conflicting individual. He clearly yearns for the FL, but at the same time, despises his feelings. He'd probably much rather harbor feelings for Ye Rong than Xi Guang, being that Ye Rong shares a similar background and makes him feel much more comfortable. He doesn't feel inadequate about himself like he does around Xi Guang.

But despite them being neighbors and sharing things in common, he's unable to love Ye Rong. At the same time, he allows the ambiguity of their relationship to persist because it discourages the FL, which is what he thinks he wants being that he's constantly in denial about his feelings. For a long time, he simply doesn't know what to do about falling for someone with a much higher social standing.

During the college days, Ye Rong's scheming ways did cause a lot of misunderstandings, but I also think Zhuang Xu chose to believe them so easily not only because of his mistaken trust towards his childhood friend, but also because he secretly wishes the FL to possess all those supposed character flaws: Arrogance, shallowness, etc. He wants to bring her down a peg or two so she'd be closer to his level and help him deal with his inferiority complex and their huge gap in social standing.

At the same time, it also helps justify his refusal to confront his own feelings (probably even hopes that it can kill his feelings entirely). If Ye Rong's beliefs about Xi Guang's character flaws are true, it should be a turnoff for him (helping him get over her sooner). Whether he was aware or not, he purposefully digs his own grave because he didn't believe there was a future for him and Xi Guang. So, it's better if it's nipped in the bud early on before he truly gets hurt. His fear of confronting his feelings for Xi Guang proves that only she has the power to hurt him. Ye Rong can never truly bring him pain because he doesn't love her.

Unfortunately, all of these shenanigans and his passiveness still failed to drive the FL from his heart. Which is why he finally confronted his feelings in his own way when he felt the FL slipping away. He became a bit more active in his actions: Trying hard to keep the FL nearby by submitting her resume to his senior, who works at a company right across from his, doing research for her thesis (this was also his way of apologizing for not defending her), and finally using a metaphor to allude to his feelings that night when he walked her back to the dorms.

After that night, he mistakenly believed that Xi Guang understood his feelings (will keep waiting for him), so he worked tirelessly to improve his societal standing in order to be good enough for her when they inevitably get together.

Tragically, Zhuang Xu's inferiority complex (stemming from his low social standing) causes him to be an utter failure when it comes to his love life. He pretty much shoots himself in the foot in every aspect when it comes to the FL. He really is his own worst enemy. I do feel bad for him in some ways because he doesn't mean to be malicious nor does he ever actively try to hurt Xi Guang. But because of his personality and wrong approach, he'll lose his true love forever. He's fated to succeed in his career, but will utterly fail when it comes to love.

I may not want Zhuang Xu to ever get together with the FL (Xi Guang) since he doesn't deserve her due to all his actions, but I can appreciate him as a well written character with flaws that give him depth. He's also pivotal for the FL's growth and central theme of this drama: The challenge of getting over a first love in order to welcome a new love. Being her first love, if Zhuang Xu was so easy to get over, the story wouldn't be true to its theme.

While I can't wait to see more swoon-worthy scenes between Xi Guang and Lin Yusen, at the same time, I'm also looking forward to the drama of Zhuang Xu's inevitable world of pain once he realizes he's lost the only woman he's ever loved. I do feel for him because his shortcomings feel pretty realistic, but at the same time, he made his own choices. He allowed true happiness to slip away from him and has no one to blame but himself. Awesome drama!!!

I thought it was 40 episodes max under the new rule, not 36?

Very well written review! Kudos to you for finishing it. My sister watched 30-40 episodes of this drama before losing interest completely. She didn't find the main couple to have electrifying chemistry nor was it the kind of romance she prefers.

There were also changes to the ML that she didn't like: Him actually loving his "first love" (book ML never cared that much for that gold digger) and the creators watering down his edgier traits to make him more likable. Drama ML ended up becoming way too modern for a privileged Song Dynasty lord. Frankly, she found him boring and much less exciting compared to his book counterpart (darker and more flawed, only ever falling for the FL).

Similar to you, she enjoyed the beginning coming of age story the most as well as her scenes with her grandmother. She also felt that the ML and FL had more chemistry as kids, lol...

So happy you enjoyed this as much as I did! The romance and chemistry was like a roller coaster ride and gave me everything I wanted: Elegant/dignified female lead who stayed true to herself and a spoiled/flawed male lead who, upon making a huge mistake, suffers heavily from the consequences.

I loved Ah Damo's character development and relished the entire buildup to episode 33 -so satisfying to behold! I suffered a severe drama slump afterwards...

To this day, I have heart palpitations whenever I watch this emotional montage of their relationship journey during the scene where she's singing at the Gisaeng house:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2ZkPalWR3Y

This is the kind of angst I want to see in every romance (slower burn intense romance with a hot/powerful ML who makes mistakes, but upon realizing his feelings, does whatever it takes to win the FL, yet never becomes pathetic/wimpy ), but rarely do they go all out like this one did!

Thanks for your well-written review that always gives me all the pertinent info I need! I always check your reviews first before watching any drama because I can always count on your perspective when it comes to plot and script quality.

Not to self, watch this only for Wang Hedi's visuals and sexiness...

This drama is masterful at executing the most passionate/epic and "no holds barred" love story! If you want a hot and intense romance, look no further...it's pretty much impossible to top for me!

Totally understand and agree with your review! This was my first Kdrama and still one of the best executed love triangles I've ever seen! The relationship/drama between all three leads was so memorable and compelling that it still haunts me to this day. You truly were torn between both male leads...

Also, back when it came out, this drama fulfilled everything I wanted in a pure/emotional love story -I wanted a serious story that's all about the relationship between the leads and I got it in spades with this romantic masterpiece!

This was my first Kdrama and still one of the best executed love triangles I've ever seen! The relationship/drama between all three leads was so memorable and compelling that it still haunts me to this day. You truly were torn between both male leads...

Thanks! I consider all of these to be quality dramas within their own respective genres. It all depends on what you're looking for...

It's a sequel

Oh my god..straight to the feels! The way they look at each other makes my heart ache so much!!!!

"Memory Lost" and "Harper's Island" are two decent series where the big bad, similar to "Pretty Maid," is obsessed with the FL and I highly enjoyed watching both!

Unfortunately, very few episodes of this series was ever subbed and the original viki channel is gone now. I'm fortunate enough to understand mandarin and didn't need to rely on subs.

Vengo was awful in this drama: I like obsessive males, but his stiff/forced performance was a total travesty...