maryxiah

I meant if it's her first own voice dubbing in historical drama.

Is the new hairdo the one with the front bangs? He does look good, it softens his whole features but he has a resting constipated face, I wish he'd smile more because he has a nice smile. However, Wang Er is still my favorite lol. Sad, boy doesn't stand a chance and doesn't know it.

Where do you read the novel?

No worries, Chinese historical dramas and their long episode count do take a bit of getting used to, but once you find the right one and get hooked, you'll never look back. I did not watch Go Go Squid so I'm not familiar with the actress, but she annoyed me to no end in Ashes of Love, I restarted the drama a couple of times because of her. Also, I rarely watch modern C-dramas, I usually watch wuxia or xianxia, I love the costumes, sets, teaware and etc.

Well, it's a 63 episodes long drama, probably too much of a commitment but there's always a FF button. I personally do not recommend it because I did not like the FL or the romance, but Leo Luo was outstanding in his role and stole the show for me, it made me feel even the worst drama is tolerable as long as there's one relatable character. He was such a revelation in that drama and I finished it just for him.

If you're new to C-dramas and trying to branch out, best start with lightweight shows. I'd recommend The Romance of Tiger and Rose (https://kisskh.at/38907-the-third-princess-from-the-rumors), it's a fun and hilarious time-traveling drama, never a dull moment. Also, it's only 24 episodes long so the story doesn't get draggy or stretched thin. When you're ready to explore more, try the famed Eternal Love (https://kisskh.at/16547-eternal-love), it's highly raved for good reasons, the starting episodes are a little slow but give it a chance and it might surprise you.

Thank you for the article, it was a fun read and I love your gif choices. I'm a crybaby myself and cry at the littlest thing in dramas, I can recall the times where I wailed while watching sad, emotional scenes and cringing at the thought but would probably repeat it soon lol.

"because Netflix kept telling me I want to watch them"

LMAO! I can relate, fell pray to Ashes of Love because of Netflix, but willing to forgive because it made me discover Leo Luo.

Happy Birthday, Handsome~! Hope to see you in more dramas as the main lead.

Started this among the sea of dramas and it's the only one where I can get past the 10 minutes mark. I enjoy watching the FL's antics, she doesn't have the common beauty standard and that adds to her charm. I can't wait to see the Fifth Prince and Wang Er fall for her. I actually prefer Wang Er but hopefully the Fifth Prince can step up his game soon! (I'm up to episode 3 btw)

SO.FREAKIN.EXCITED! Can't wait to watch Dilraba on my screen again! I just love her in this armor look, so badass.

Is this her first in historical drama? I've always felt the dubbing voice is close to her real voice but I can't stand the cutesy and childish tone in some because it's not very much her style.

OMG! YES! I desperately need Dilraba x Leo Luo pairing!

The ML is a serious creep but I cannot stop watching him. I may have imagined myself as the FL.

A good example of a drama with meandering plots that lead to nowhere, indecisive FL that leads to annoying love-triangle, weak romance arc (I only wanted the romance for the ML because he wanted it) and poor production value (I seriously do not get why they didn't ask Li Hong Yi to remove his eyelid tapes, I had a hard time focusing when they zoomed in on his face). It took me a while to warm up to both male leads, who were equally unshippable--one is a plank and the other one is diabolical. Just when the romance finally took off, the FL turned frustrating by being wishy-washy between both guys, I wished she had taken a firm stand by letting both guys know which one she loved.

I initially did not like Qiu Yue's character, who seemed to harbor sinister plans behind his cheekiness, and thought him to be the second male lead doomed to tragedy. He grew on me little by little every time he showed vulnerability in front of Chun Hua, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out he was the male lead later down the story. I was most affected by him during the one scene where he was wounded and hid at the ice cave with Chun Hua, he told her a secret passageway to leave the ice cave and when she really did, oof, the look of hurt, betrayal, and pain on his face really got to me. For all the hurt Chun Hua caused him, I was glad that he finally returned the favor by throwing the hairpin to her, which signified their breakup, it was heartbreaking but totally understandable from his pov.

This drama does not have enough material to cover 40 episodes, it could easily be shortened to 25-30 episodes to deliver more impact, or turn the focus on Chun Hua's backstory as it was not properly developed. Qiu Yue was the only reason I powered through the 40 episodes. He was so beautiful in every scene I could watch him all day.

As for Run Yu, I did not suffer SLS because I was not convinced or invested in their romance arc, I thought both brothers were better off without her. I was more interested in Run Yu's characterization, the whole turn and his reasoning, he was a complex gray character that brought out a wave of emotions in me.

I generally do not root for second leads no matter how perfect they are because love is an exclusive equation. However, there were rare moments I wished the main lead would give the second lead a chance because the relationship progression felt more healthy and logical. I mostly do not get SLS myself, but for the two dramas that I did, it was because the relationship dynamic with the second lead felt more fleshed out, natural and convincing.

I rarely suffer SLS for the same reason as you, I tend to root the main OTP because it takes two to tango. I only suffered serious SLS for 2 dramas: Doctor Stranger and Who Are You: School 2015.

1. Go back to episode 12 and watch it again, she clearly did not say she enjoyed it nor compared it to being a florist, she only mentioned changing her dream because she saw something awesome, i.e. Dae Hyun with the kid. I wasn't talking about working at the store after leaving Dae Hyun's family, rather the so-called dream of being convenience store manager for Dae Hyun's sake, she obviously wanted to be one because of him, hence why I said she was reduced to romance. Girl could forget all about her dream for the guy it's almost an insult to all the girls watching.
2. Umm, I'm pretty sure I watched faithfully in the beginning and did not see any mention of this, but if you're sure, I'll accept it. Don't even know why this is an issue because I clearly did not mention Dae Hyun in my original post.
3. Okay, this is a character I actually do not care so not gonna bother checking and verifying. She's still a crappy friend and it's plain to see.

I'm sure Saet Byul and Dae Hyun were positively influencing each other, any type of relationship can do as much, my point is she didn't have to forgo a whole dream just to be with him, it's kind of discouraging to watch especially when I was rooting for this girl right from the start. I guess what I want to say is I expected too much.

Side note: I do not enjoy this back and forth with you. Every time you reply to my post, I feel like you're invalidating my opinions and forcing yours on me. If that's not your intention, I apologize for my bluntness. Let's just agree to disagree.

Are we watching the same drama?
1. Saet Byul never said she enjoyed being at the store more than wanting to be a florist. She said she changed her dream to become a convenience store manager because of how cool Dae Hyun was, note it was because of Dae Hyun and never because it was fun or she "enjoyed" it. The convenience store is more of an extension of Dae Hyun, which is why she cherished it a lot but still not her actual dream, that's why I said she went back for Dae Hyun's sake. If she had cared about the convenience store or convenience stores in general, she wouldn't have avoided them when she ran away from Dae Hyun's house, she avoided them because they reminded her of Dae Hyun, so instead, she went back to her real love - flowers garden.
2. It was never mentioned in any episode that Dae Hyun had wanted to go back to the head office, in fact, he was rather unwilling to go back to the head office when first offered the job, so it's safe to say that he doesn't fit in the corporate environment in the first place and it's not about the convenience store or anything. It's true he loves his convenience store a lot, but that's given, no?
3. It WAS an apology letter addressed to Dae Hyun's mom because she was leaving without saying goodbye or even letting on about said bf. My point is if she didn't care about posting the letter in the first place after so many years, why now? Age doesn't excuse bad treatment, especially of a friend, clearly Jang Mi wasn't a good one.

I don't really care about the noble idiocy or why it happened and how it was resolved. I care more about Saet Byul's character growth, which is part of the bigger plot, instead the girl was reduced to romance and comedy. Bah.

I don't know what I was expecting from this drama but that ending definitely wasn't it. I'm quite disappointed in Saet Byul's characterization toward the end, she showed plenty of improvement from earlier episodes only to regress in the final leg. For a girl who loves flower so much to the point of memorizing each flower's meaning and dreaming of becoming a florist, she did nothing to pursue that dream, just when I thought she was going in the right direction and finally do something to achieve that dream, she backtracked and went back to the convenient store for Dae Hyun's sake. I don't get why a girl has to choose between her dream and a guy, why can't a girl have the best of both worlds? I was hoping she'd pursue her dream and THEN reunite with Dae Hyun under the falling flowers like in the first episode and coming to a full circle. For that matter, I actually admire Eun Byul for her determination to achieve her dream, she knew what she wanted and she strove for it, this girl is destined for great things.

And I don't get where they were going with the Jang Mi arc, I seriously think she was a lousy friend/daughter and Dae Hyun's mum lucked out that she disappeared on her years ago. She had written a letter that didn't even seem like an apology ("I met a guy and I'm running away with him, I know you'd understand." - Uh, no?) and didn't even bother posting it out after soooo many years. I'm not even sure why she bothered coming back into their lives other than returning the money that she owed Dae Hyun's dad.

The breaking of the 4th wall was cute, but had this drama been good, I might care or appreciate it a little, instead, I was feeling annoyed that I actually invested my time and energy in this. I wouldn't say this drama is bad, but it is definitely mediocre.