Came here after watching the ML in another drama (where many of the comments raved about this one) - and I honestly dont get the rave reviews. Don’t get me wrong - I actually like the ML in this over the more recent one I watched and the main couple had great chemistry (although they took waaaayyyyy too long to get them together) - but, overall, I did not think this was all that great - mostly because it was sooooo slow-paced and draggy - especially the first half - like, painfully draggy and slow as molasses I get what they were going for in depicting the daily life of noble families - and that was interesting to a certain point - and then it jut become boring because its the same stuff over and over again. Really could have told this same story in half the time. Did appreciate they kept the palace intrigue to a minimum and would have liked more time with the leads together - they were super-cute and well matched. And, grandma stole the show - she really was THE BEST! Don’t be messin’ with her - she was badass
Just finished this and would just say it’s ok - good premise, but falls short on execution in a lot of places. First and foremost, they spend waaayyy too much time setting up the idea of showing us how ‘smart’ the fl is in the beginning - we got it after abut the 2nd or third attempt and then it just became, yeah, yeh, we got it, she’s smart - move on. Also felt a bit bad for the actress with how much dialogue she had - man did she talk ALOT. Another cdrama with the weird obsession with a huge gap - kind of worked, but not really - you really did feel how much older than her he was - didn’t help with the decision to have him move so methodically and slow and not much facial expression. They clearly connect intellectually - but there is unequal power dynamic and not much sizzle to make it work. The premise of the childhood sweetheart for ML - first - they were never children together - he saves her once and she becomes obsessed with him - this just didn’t work AT ALL. Ending was a bit muddled and rushed
Just finished this - it was mostly, very underwhelming The good parts are Xiao Zhan - he lays this character to perfection and was a pleasure to watch I started out not liking Pan Rou and Song Chen characters - but they grew on me over time and ended on a very positive note I liked the lead female character - mostly her attitude about life and how direct she was - but she is pretty emotionless throughout the show and there is not a whole lot of chemistry between them HATED the sister character - she as just annoying and did not understand AT ALL why she becomes obsessed with getting her sister together with the professor - mostly, because they don’t have that kind of relationship - so, it didn’t fit beyond being a stupid plot ploy I did enjoy Haojun - he was super-cute-just didn’t like pairing them him with the annoying sister. Even with that - it was kind of a pointless side-story And then there is his mom - I didn’t hate her, but man did she just rub me the wrong way. She had her good supportive moments - but she was such an emotional manipulator. She has both her husband and son walking around on eggshells trying not to upset her - this is a big no-thank-you for me.
Would have given this a 10 if it were not for the ending - sooooo many unanswered questions/plots left hanging. this is really such a well-done drama - great characters, great filming and costume, good pacing of the story - thought ALL the actors did such great jobs - really is worth the watch. But, that ending is so, so so wrong, UNLESS they really do plan on a season 2 - we still dont know who the head of Wufeng is (the mysterious lady behind the curtain), what happens to Yun and her twin, what is the deal with back, back-hill people (the people created by infinite heat), shangguan needs to get her revenge - SO many things left undone
Just finished and overall - a pretty darn good kdrama - if you like this genre. Thought all the actors did a fantastic job Starts off strong and then gets kind of draggy through the middle with way too long back story arcs (seriously - did not need 3 episodes for Joowon’s back story) - then a strong, action packed finish Maybe its just me - but found it a bit odd that Doo Shik was not on screen more - I mean he is one of THE central characters, but has the least amount of screen time - just felt strange and maybe they make this up in season2. Also felt the ending where he rejoins his family VERY tepid - I mean FFS, he has been missing for like 8-10yrs (something like that) - and we only get a hug as they pan away LOVED that Joowon and his daughter adopt the NK guy And, Lordy 0 could Bongseok BE any cuter!
This is on my watch list -but one of the biggest reasons I keep putting it off is the complete turnoff on how they styled the FL - like, seriously, wtf were they thinking. She is already a tiny woman and they put her in all these horrendous, puffy-sleeved, way-too-big for her, grandma dress that just swallow her up - so not a good look AT ALL. And what is with all the HUGE lapels on everything. I mean, I will eventually watch at some point - but just needed to vent that out a bit as it just bugs the heck out me every time a see a clip from the show.
Just finished this and will just say - it’s just kind of ‘meh’ - there is just something underwhelming about it. The plot premise is kind of interesting - just feels like it failed on execution. The main couple had their ‘cute’ moments - but just didn’t fully connect for me - so they also felt awkward a lot of the time. Honestly, my favorite character was Cassandra - she was fantastic! There there was the choice to wrap the main story up at ep14 and then have these two, weird hanging episodes in 15 and 16 that just added nothing to the story - just kind of added fluff.
I trudged through 45 episodes and finally had to give it up. The plot lines must became so repetitive it just become boring - usual palace intrigue stuff just done over and over again. The usual crazy princess who is obsessed with one of the ML - but she isn't even very clever and her antics just got so overplayed that she just became a pathetic, boring character. FL that they typically try to canonize/romanticize with being so kind and noble - again - it just got old, really quick. Mixed feelings about Lu Buwei and Haolan pairing - mostly, he just felt too old for her and the whole 'father-figure' syndrome which I don't much care for. Haolan and Zichu pairing worked - but she clearly doesn't 'love' him - which annoyed me, because he actually gave her what she wanted, as opposed to Lu Buwei. The thing I enjoyed he most was the costumes - beautiful! I so want one of these hanfus from that era - much heavier fabric and detailing.
Just finished this and it was a mixed bag for me - mostly ok, but some really bad spots It starts off with a bang and the mom character is a hoot - but by ep 5, I was so over her bad behavior. She was stuck in her teens emotionally - just wants what she wants when she wants and everyone else just has to deal with it. Did not see her take into account anyone else’s feelings or emotions too often. She was a bit of an emotional bully that way. Daughter was the typical daughter of a single mom who has never really grown up and she takes on the ‘parent’ role - bothered me that this was never really acknowledged by mom. WHnever she does, finally, express her emotions - mo either yells at her or blames her for believing what others say - never hears her insecurity or why. This was truly a toxic, codependent relationship And while I understand where all the behavior comes from (abusive family, teen mom, etc..) - there isn’t much character growth until the very end They spent waaaayyyy too much time on mom’s romance and not nearly enough on daughters - we literally have to wait until ep11 and then she decides to go leave - so, basically we got nothing. HATED that mom, even in the end, couldnt let her daughter go on a trip by herself - she as well, then had to set off - once again, she showed how her feelings were more important Agree with other commenters that the whole murder-mystery thing was kind of pointless and I didn’t like that we dont get any real resolution to Chief Eun’s situation Other weird observations - mother/daughter never hug each other
Just finished this and another cdrama that falls victim to some really bad writing. The potential for this was pretty good. - but just not executed well. You will pretty much just endure watching this because of Johnny Huang and the fox brothers The most interesting story was the whole throuple relationship with the food brothers and Xin Xiao - they need their own whole drama - truly the most fun and interesting part of this drama.FL was one of the most boring FL’s out there - just spends the entire drama waking around with this sad puppy-dog face - has no self-agency, is horribly insecure and so helpless most of the time. They try yo play it off as she si kind - but being kind doesn’t equal being a doormat. They also try to explain that this is her curse - but the curse is just about her dying - not being miserable Here is why she is annoying - she never expresses or explains herself - while expecting everyone else to, is soooooo passive in her own life, has that annoying martyr complex, the horrible overthinker, is never direct about anything, does that awful drama trip of listening to people she hardly knows - you basically, just want to throttle her for most of the drama. I just DO NOT get AT ALL the appeal of these kinds of female characters
Interesting change of tone from season 1 to season 2 - some of you will like it and some won’t - this season is definitely darker and creepier than the last season. Still love the counter crew as a whole - they have great chemistry together. Could have done without the evil spirits Gollum voice - it was just weird and that is all I could think about any time she was on screen. Loved So Moon’s poney-tail hairstyle at the end when he is in Germany (very sexy) - DID NOT like the died red hair at the end. And what is the obsession with mullets in Asian dramas and culture - NEVER a good look, EVER.
Just finished this - overall, very sweet story - not a lot of ‘fireworks’ - but very gentle. I think the biggest fail for me on this was the editing - it was so choppy in so many places - abrupt starts and stops in the story - for instance - we open with the knowledge his grandpa is in the hospital and dying - you have one scene where the FL finally goes to hospital to meet him, they have a very heartwarming scene and grandpa is very active - cut to next scene and she is causally mentioning on the phone that her husband is busy cause his grandpa just died and you are like. - wait, what!?!?! - this happens ALOT. If you can move past that - it’s quite a nice story and you will LOVE Jing Gardens!
Just finished and would say, overall, a good watch. Thought Physician Li was fantastic - Cheng Yi has wonderful comedic timing - this was a great character and he did a fantastic job. Wasn’t that excited about the Fang Duo Bing character - kind of shallow for me - not much depth there - just basically a golden retriever puppy following Physician Li around - did make me laugh when he refers to him as a meathead in one of the story arcs - cause that is exactly what I was thinking before he said that. I thought the more interesting relationship duo was Physician Li and Director Di - there was just more depth there
Slightly better than season 1 - only because they dropped the whole leukemia story arc (thank god!) - otherwise its the same story with some reversals of roles. Not sure if that contributed to it being a bit boring as you knew what was coming and the characters didn’t really change. Only real fun part was catching all the easter eggs from season1.
Just finished this and I had so many thoughts about how ridiculous and tropey this was - but the list got too long. Let’s just go with the things I wish they would really, really stop doing in rom-coms. Pairing the FL and ML’s best friends together, the horrible baby-voices for female characters, the stupid drunken scenes, asking the friends who have no experience for dating /love advice, apartments/houses/offices where all the pictures are of themselves - just stop it! And here are characters/story arcs I wish they would stop - when the leads get together after some huge misunderstanding and promise never to lie to each other again and then they turn right around and lie about a rather huge thing (in this case its the FL how decides she has to stick her nose into the ML’s past re: his mother - thinking she is going to save this relationship - just to have it blow up spectacularly in her face). This speaks to the next thing - stop going and doing stuff that people do not ask you to do - most of this is done out of some need to constantly help and its based on what that person would want - not what the person they are actually helping wants. And, for the love of god - stop, stop, stop with he FL going to the bad guy (after explicitly being asked not to) - and what is the deal with FL’s always talking to complete strangers about the most intimate details of the their lives - who does that! And can we stop with the overly proud, I can do it all myself, don’t need to ask for help, kind of bratty, not very bright - but full of attitude female characters?? I honestly did not get why anyone would have been attracted to this character Don’t get me wrong - the ML character has a HUGE flaw - the whole set up regarding the leukemia diagnosis - well, it’s just so wrong. SO WRONG. But this FL character was just so bad - an actress who couldn’t act to save her life, the horrible pony-tail hairdo that she wore everywhere, was never is dressed appropriately for work situations, signs a contract and spends the 1st half of the show trying to get out of/ignore it - she was kind of annoying.
I want to watch this but the idea of the mal lead getting married to another woman instead of only the fl is stopping…
Don’t let it stop you. It is forced upon the ML and they both don’t want it - she becomes a bestie of the FL. Yes the Sedona wife does try to break up the leads - pretty typical of these dramas - but, again, doesn’t affect the leads at all.
Just finished and man, that was some seriously jacked up shit - some good, some REALLY bad, confusing/rushed ending. Starts off pretty wild/fun - then after about ep 8 - just spirals out of control. Thought all the actors did a fantastic job in their roles - just weird, weird script (which seems typical for this screenwriter)
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I get what they were going for in depicting the daily life of noble families - and that was interesting to a certain point - and then it jut become boring because its the same stuff over and over again.
Really could have told this same story in half the time.
Did appreciate they kept the palace intrigue to a minimum and would have liked more time with the leads together - they were super-cute and well matched.
And, grandma stole the show - she really was THE BEST! Don’t be messin’ with her - she was badass
First and foremost, they spend waaayyy too much time setting up the idea of showing us how ‘smart’ the fl is in the beginning - we got it after abut the 2nd or third attempt and then it just became, yeah, yeh, we got it, she’s smart - move on. Also felt a bit bad for the actress with how much dialogue she had - man did she talk ALOT.
Another cdrama with the weird obsession with a huge gap - kind of worked, but not really - you really did feel how much older than her he was - didn’t help with the decision to have him move so methodically and slow and not much facial expression. They clearly connect intellectually - but there is unequal power dynamic and not much sizzle to make it work.
The premise of the childhood sweetheart for ML - first - they were never children together - he saves her once and she becomes obsessed with him - this just didn’t work AT ALL.
Ending was a bit muddled and rushed
The good parts are Xiao Zhan - he lays this character to perfection and was a pleasure to watch
I started out not liking Pan Rou and Song Chen characters - but they grew on me over time and ended on a very positive note
I liked the lead female character - mostly her attitude about life and how direct she was - but she is pretty emotionless throughout the show and there is not a whole lot of chemistry between them
HATED the sister character - she as just annoying and did not understand AT ALL why she becomes obsessed with getting her sister together with the professor - mostly, because they don’t have that kind of relationship - so, it didn’t fit beyond being a stupid plot ploy
I did enjoy Haojun - he was super-cute-just didn’t like pairing them him with the annoying sister. Even with that - it was kind of a pointless side-story
And then there is his mom - I didn’t hate her, but man did she just rub me the wrong way. She had her good supportive moments - but she was such an emotional manipulator. She has both her husband and son walking around on eggshells trying not to upset her - this is a big no-thank-you for me.
this is really such a well-done drama - great characters, great filming and costume, good pacing of the story - thought ALL the actors did such great jobs - really is worth the watch.
But, that ending is so, so so wrong, UNLESS they really do plan on a season 2 - we still dont know who the head of Wufeng is (the mysterious lady behind the curtain), what happens to Yun and her twin, what is the deal with back, back-hill people (the people created by infinite heat), shangguan needs to get her revenge - SO many things left undone
Thought all the actors did a fantastic job
Starts off strong and then gets kind of draggy through the middle with way too long back story arcs (seriously - did not need 3 episodes for Joowon’s back story) - then a strong, action packed finish
Maybe its just me - but found it a bit odd that Doo Shik was not on screen more - I mean he is one of THE central characters, but has the least amount of screen time - just felt strange and maybe they make this up in season2. Also felt the ending where he rejoins his family VERY tepid - I mean FFS, he has been missing for like 8-10yrs (something like that) - and we only get a hug as they pan away
LOVED that Joowon and his daughter adopt the NK guy
And, Lordy 0 could Bongseok BE any cuter!
The thing I enjoyed he most was the costumes - beautiful! I so want one of these hanfus from that era - much heavier fabric and detailing.
It starts off with a bang and the mom character is a hoot - but by ep 5, I was so over her bad behavior. She was stuck in her teens emotionally - just wants what she wants when she wants and everyone else just has to deal with it. Did not see her take into account anyone else’s feelings or emotions too often. She was a bit of an emotional bully that way.
Daughter was the typical daughter of a single mom who has never really grown up and she takes on the ‘parent’ role - bothered me that this was never really acknowledged by mom. WHnever she does, finally, express her emotions - mo either yells at her or blames her for believing what others say - never hears her insecurity or why.
This was truly a toxic, codependent relationship
And while I understand where all the behavior comes from (abusive family, teen mom, etc..) - there isn’t much character growth until the very end
They spent waaaayyyy too much time on mom’s romance and not nearly enough on daughters - we literally have to wait until ep11 and then she decides to go leave - so, basically we got nothing.
HATED that mom, even in the end, couldnt let her daughter go on a trip by herself - she as well, then had to set off - once again, she showed how her feelings were more important
Agree with other commenters that the whole murder-mystery thing was kind of pointless and I didn’t like that we dont get any real resolution to Chief Eun’s situation
Other weird observations - mother/daughter never hug each other
You will pretty much just endure watching this because of Johnny Huang and the fox brothers
The most interesting story was the whole throuple relationship with the food brothers and Xin Xiao - they need their own whole drama - truly the most fun and interesting part of this drama.FL was one of the most boring FL’s out there - just spends the entire drama waking around with this sad puppy-dog face - has no self-agency, is horribly insecure and so helpless most of the time. They try yo play it off as she si kind - but being kind doesn’t equal being a doormat. They also try to explain that this is her curse - but the curse is just about her dying - not being miserable
Here is why she is annoying - she never expresses or explains herself - while expecting everyone else to, is soooooo passive in her own life, has that annoying martyr complex, the horrible overthinker, is never direct about anything, does that awful drama trip of listening to people she hardly knows - you basically, just want to throttle her for most of the drama. I just DO NOT get AT ALL the appeal of these kinds of female characters
I think the biggest fail for me on this was the editing - it was so choppy in so many places - abrupt starts and stops in the story - for instance - we open with the knowledge his grandpa is in the hospital and dying - you have one scene where the FL finally goes to hospital to meet him, they have a very heartwarming scene and grandpa is very active - cut to next scene and she is causally mentioning on the phone that her husband is busy cause his grandpa just died and you are like. - wait, what!?!?! - this happens ALOT. If you can move past that - it’s quite a nice story and you will LOVE Jing Gardens!
Pairing the FL and ML’s best friends together, the horrible baby-voices for female characters, the stupid drunken scenes, asking the friends who have no experience for dating /love advice, apartments/houses/offices where all the pictures are of themselves - just stop it!
And here are characters/story arcs I wish they would stop - when the leads get together after some huge misunderstanding and promise never to lie to each other again and then they turn right around and lie about a rather huge thing (in this case its the FL how decides she has to stick her nose into the ML’s past re: his mother - thinking she is going to save this relationship - just to have it blow up spectacularly in her face). This speaks to the next thing - stop going and doing stuff that people do not ask you to do - most of this is done out of some need to constantly help and its based on what that person would want - not what the person they are actually helping wants.
And, for the love of god - stop, stop, stop with he FL going to the bad guy (after explicitly being asked not to) - and what is the deal with FL’s always talking to complete strangers about the most intimate details of the their lives - who does that!
And can we stop with the overly proud, I can do it all myself, don’t need to ask for help, kind of bratty, not very bright - but full of attitude female characters?? I honestly did not get why anyone would have been attracted to this character
Don’t get me wrong - the ML character has a HUGE flaw - the whole set up regarding the leukemia diagnosis - well, it’s just so wrong. SO WRONG.
But this FL character was just so bad - an actress who couldn’t act to save her life, the horrible pony-tail hairdo that she wore everywhere, was never is dressed appropriately for work situations, signs a contract and spends the 1st half of the show trying to get out of/ignore it - she was kind of annoying.
Thought all the actors did a fantastic job in their roles - just weird, weird script (which seems typical for this screenwriter)