mochachen

Yup. They just do voice over recording. It's becoming more common now which I'm glad.

I've started watching Time Flies and You are Here. So far, it's not bad. Different dramas have different qualities so I have different standards as well. That being said, I quite enjoy the drama so far. At least I have watched 4 eps back to back and soon on to ep 5. It's much much better than Miss the Dragon. Quite like the ml as well from Ultimate Note. So, at least his acting I can comfortably watch.

True, but I think most dramas now, especially the higher quality and production ones, are trying to use actors' own voice, even period dramas. Ashes of Love, Brocade etc., uses actors own voice. Especially modern dramas now in the past couple years. Which is refreshing and even better bc I do prefer listening to actors' real voice, especially Denglun and Luo Yunxi's.

I dropped it around ep 4. Decided to skip ahead and see what's new and good. skimmed through ep 12 and 17 ish. Still same old. Decided to finally drop it for good, especially since there's more new dramas airing today.

Yea, I think the beginning where they fell in love was written very poorly. There was 0 buildup to the romance, it's like "wham bam love at first sight. love you forever". So can't relate. I don't see how the dragon loves her so deeply to the point he would sacrifice himself and such. Their no solid evidence of why their romance should exist. Anyways, there's finally a lot more new dramas airing today such as Zhao lusi's and this other one called Time Flies and You are Here. I might watch these two instead.

I say this with unbiased opinion and an avid drama goer for over a decade. So I did have some expectations since Dylan with white hair looked cool. At first I was like "woot" finally a new fantasy deity drama, my kinda genre. But I was hit with disappointment. This is the type of drama that I will most likely drop half way. The acting is subpar, not the best but not the worst. Perhaps it's the badly written characters, but the characters and personalities are pretty basic. The dragon king acts very foolish and naïve, which doesn't make sense for a 1000yr old dragon. Sure, perhaps it's bc he doesn't involve himself in the modern world, but dude a 1k yr old dragon should have experienced some stuff, yet he acts like a clueless child sometimes. I'm only on ep 4 so I guess his character can develop more and maybe Dylan's acting can improve as the drama goes on. But, right now the plot is dull and the acting is dull. Dylan needs to improve on his expressions, yes he's a pretty boy, but in terms of acting, it can only get him so far before he hits a dead end. I was curious as to what viewers in China thinks of the drama so I checked on weibo...mostly critiques and ridicules of the drama. Which is sad, but I can relate and understand.

As for the fl, I really don't get her. First she acts all afraid of him, then shy around him, then treats his wound, then afraid again. Iike is she playing hard to get? (I'm jking here...kinda). Her character isn't consistent, and she's just the same...foolish, naive, cute type of girl (in Chinese there's a term for this type of character called Sha Bai Tian). I can't tolerate those types of characters, the character has to be written really well and the actress has to play really really well in order for me to not roll my eyes and find annoyance, when they write these types of characters. Unfortunately, this actress just doesn't do it for me. her acting is mediocre, I've seen her in two other dramas, and she plays the bad guy better. The plot can do some fixing, such as why have fl as a maid, but be treated almost like a lady of the manor (i.e., no responsibilities, nice clothes, nice food and good living quarters). Is there a point to write the fl as a maid??

What bugs me is the colour scheme of the drama. It's very dull and boring. So far, the drama isn't very exciting and I'm not enthralled. I've seen many many dramas of this genre, and unfortunately, this one isn't it. I'm not even comparing it to Peach Blossom or Ashes of love. But, for now, since there isn't any good dramas, especially of this genre, I would say it's a not bad drama to watch until something good shows up.

I'm writing all this based on just 4 eps, so my opinion may change, stay the same or get worse.

I had some expectations with Dylan's acting. But his facial expressions are pretty stoic right now. Hopefully, when there's angst it gets better, meaning his acting and facial expressions. He's still young, but then that's really just an excuse since there's plenty of similar age or younger actors that can act pretty good. There's a lot more fantasy/deity such as Xukai's coming soon. So I am expecting that. I think this month is the month of ancient dramas. lots of good ones coming out soon.

Ah but Fuyao isn't part of the genre. it's not deity fantasy.

Agree. I liked her in Put your head on my shoulders. But after that it seems like all her characters are similar. like happy go lucky, looking at the bright side, always nice and helpful not a bad bone, never bully anyone type. It's repetitive. Her acting is ok, perhaps with more opportunities with diff roles she'll gain more experience and widen her scope. Like Zhao Lusi, her acting in Ballad was pretty good I liked her more than Raba surprisingly.

If you prefer this type of genre, then the list of recommendations on this page (Peach Plossom, Pillow Case, Ashes of Love etc) are perfect. They are also the more superior cast, drama and directing than the one currently airing. Strongly recommend those as you wait for this to air. They are also free and available with subs on youtube

I thought I was the only one who thought that.

haha, I wouldn't go that far.

I've watched 3 eps so far. Not the best fantasy/deity drama out there. How ml just fell in love with fl is somewhat fickle and childish. the beginning didn't really have much of character or love buildup. The fl is the type of character that is naive, innocent and foolish. Basically the typical " Sha Bai Tian" type of girl. I just rolled my eyes when she didn't want to sleep with the snake (in snake form) bc she didn't know his gender....it's an animal, not going to take your maiden hood my god. Something is missing with Bambi's acting, I just can't get in to her acting. It's like at first she's scared of the dragon and then acts normal again then scared when he reappears....like be consistent. Also, isn't she a maid why is her maid responsibilities so light that she can go around and shop. Her room is also very luxurious looking that no maid should be allowed to sleep in, in typical dramas anyways. I get she's the lead so there's exceptions. Then why not make her the miss of the manor, why the maid?? Does being the maid help her character? Perhaps she has another identity she didn't know. Also, the colour scheme is very dull. Overall, it's just a so so drama. But I will keep watching until a better one comes up since I'm in a drama drought, even though there's plenty of new dramas out.

whaaat? were we watching the same drama?

ZQ is very immature in the love department. He still hasn't "bloomed" yet. He treats JJ extra nice and special bc he considers her his sister. I was so annoyed at his lawyer friend bc he mislead and misguided zq into thinking he has feelings for jj. If you looked at zq's expressions, his face lit up when his friend mentioned that if he and jj got married then he would officially be her family. That's the ultimate goal. He wants to marry her so he can be registered under the Li family. He even told jj, when he confessed to her, that he would take their last name. That's really the only thing that bothers him deep down, unconsciously. Although Li dad and jj treats him like family, he isn't legally. He's a foster son/brother. So in a way, he's afraid they will abandon him bc of that bc there's no legal ties. There's also many other times where he showed that he's not interested in jj. When jj asked him what would he do if they kissed. He gave a very brotherly reply and said he would stick her head in the freezer to cool down. Another time, when she mentioned sex, he got grossed out and said they would never do that. So why would jj ever be with a guy that doesn't want to be intimate with her??

Everyone gets confused about the scene where the two bros have a confrontation about who jj likes, and zq ends up saying "why don't you choose me?" This is not about love at all but about his abandonment issues from his mom. he didn't understand why jj didn't choose him and abandoning him, just like his mom. The scene was portrayed nicely when jj was standing between both bros (symbolizing equality between the bros), then lx reeled her to his side, which made it 2 against 1 stand off. That showed that they were both abandoning him and that's probably how he felt. He never liked jj that way. He was the ultimate winner in the end, bc he got his mom back and his mom married his dad, which meant that he can finally be a Li.

From my understanding, LX made this unfair request to JJ to maintain boundaries with ZQ bc of his insecurity. He's afraid he'll lose JJ to ZQ. He mentioned that compared to jj's ex, he's confident in himself bc he has the benefit of growing up with her. They are already like family, so their foundation is more solid compared to her ex. But, compared to ZQ, they both grew up together around the same length of time. So LX is uncertain and afraid bc ZQ has just a strong foundation with JJ as he himself does. Hence, he did all these things to test her (going to her tree, kissing her-he always opens his eyes first before her to confirm- asking her to kiss him, requesting the boundary etc. The main thing is he believes JJ is with him out of pity, and bc he desperately needs her, he doesn't care what reason is the cause of it as long as she reciprocates same feelings. He can tell that JJ pities ZQ too, so he's anxious and worried that she will leave him for ZQ. LX is actually a very sad character, he's so broken and scarred inside, that nobody seems to be able to see through his facade or care to be perceptive enough. Only JJ can tell.

in the coming eps, LX relays the events in Singapore and he really doesn't have it any better than ZQ. In a way, I think he has it way worse. ZQ is more of physical exhaustion during his time abroad, while LX is mental exhaustion. Deterioration of mental wellbeing is the worst and much harder to overcome and recover. I really wouldn't put it pass him of the thought to suicide, if it weren't for his sole purpose to return back to JJ he really wouldn't have lasted so long. JJ was his motivation to endure all these 9 years, hence why he said he often day dreamed of going back to her and having a life with her. It's this hope that kept him sane.

There's really no need to pity ZQ when JJ chose LX over him. I can't emphasize this enough that ZQ never ever liked JJ the same way LX does. ZQ is heartbroken that JJ chose LX over him because he felt like he was being abandoned again, like how his mother abandoned him. He has major abandonment issues. He would've been perfectly fine with JJ not choosing any brother but bc she chose LX over him, he felt like he was an outsider, it was especially emphasized when LX grabbed JJ and it was a 2vs1 face off. But for LX, if JJ chose to not love him, he would be sad bc he already loved her. ZQ's ultimate goal was to be in the same household registry as the Li family, and to do so is to marry JJ. That's such a wrong way to think and very unfair to JJ if she ever got together with him. ZQ doesn't even want to be intimate with JJ. Imagine a passionless marriage. Overall, both boys have terrible and traumatic childhoods, so please don't hate on LX bc he has it just as bad if not worse.

It seems like there are a lot of misunderstanding of LX bc he's not as outspoken as ZQ. LX tend to bottle up everything inside. So here's my understanding of his behaviour in ep 27.

The details and meaning of this drama is one of the many reasons why it deserves a 10 in my book.
-For example, ep 4, during the bus stop scene where JJ and Lx were waiting for ZQ, jj was walking in a circle around lx. That symbolizes jj as the sun revolving around Lx. Meaning to LX, JJ is his sunlight, something warm and bright in his gloomy and sad days. Something he can't live without bc without the warmth of the sun( jj) lx will slowly wilt and die. Again, similar thing happens, in ep 9, when LX asked JJ to act cute. He smiles when she does it and we can see the ray of sunshine in his background shines through instead of the gloomy sky before.

-I always thought LX bought JJ her first bra bc he was a very perceptive person. But, after rewatching so many repeated scenes, in retrospect, I've finally figured out why. It's bc JJ always hugs LX's arm, and no one else's, not even her dad or ZQ. Hence why LX realized JJ is growing up and needs a bra bc he can FEEL her pressing against his arm. Again, only gf does that not siblings. So this is another hint to prove that JJ always liked LX in a different way compared to ZQ.

-I at first thought LX asked Mingyue of JJ's pictures bc he missed her and wanted to, somewhat like see her grow and want to know her daily activities. But now Ik it's bc when he's feeling down and need a pick me up, jj is his only ray of sunshine. His happy pill to keep him sane and tough enough to endure all these years.

-The bed scene in ep 3 where LX overreacted when JJ slept on his bed. JJ is clueless about the opposite sex since she's raised by all men and hang out with mainly her brothers. This bed scene and LX's reaction is to show the difference between all three siblings' maturity and how they see JJ. Lx's flustered and angry outburst to jj smelling and sleeping on his bed shows that he wants to set certain boundaries between jj bc she's becoming a grown lady. This shows that LX sees her as more than a child or sibling...he treats her as a blossoming lady that he likes, a man to a woman. While ZQ is clueless and says LX overreacts since she's still a kid portrays ZQ's maturity level , in terms of the opposite sex, has not fully developed. This also shows that he only sees her as a kid sister. And usually siblings can lay on each others' bed since well they are siblings with no romantic feelings for each other. And JJ being clueless bc she'a not fully developed yet in that area of the opposite gender. These 3 perspectives continues on in adulthood where LX likes JJ in the romantic way but JJ is clueless. And ZQ only adores JJ as a sister but since he is still confused about love between man and woman and familial love... a love triangle forms.

-This drama does a phenomenal job at depicting the difference between what LX and ZQ longs for, what or who they miss while they were away 9 years ago. When LX comes back the first thing he wants to do is go in JJ's room and look at her memories and runs his hands on her stuff. It shows LX misses JJ the most. While ZQ looks around the house instead. It shows ZQ misses family the most.

-The gold fishes symbolized growth. In JJ's family house, she has goldfishes during her childhood. It's subtle, but the goldfishes grew in size to show that the three were also growing and maturing. While Mingyue's goldfishes stayed the same-baby goldfishes. It symbolize Mingyue couldn't be her own individual person bc her whole life was handled and controlled by her mom. She couldn't make her own choices. This shows a small glimpse of what tiger/controlling parents does to their children. Near the end, Mingyue released the fishes in the river to let them grow and be free, that was also referring to herself.

-This drama depicts different family dynamics and how it influences and affects the children. Moms that abandon their children bc of poor financial circumstances (very common with left alone kids in China's country side), moms that exploit their children for financial gains, children with divorced parents, children with parents that are mentally unwell, tiger moms, single parent households, and lastly children in a family with two loving parents. Each character, in adulthood, have their own problems bc of their family situations and upbringings.

Overall, I think it's a really well written drama, with some things that could need a few tweaking. But it's one of the less draggy dramas and I loved the story and the meaning.

1. Why ZQ is not a good fit for JJ
-zq never had romantic feelings for jj to begin with. He was clueless about romance and his bff mislead him into thinking he had feelings for jj. If anyone looked closely they would've seen his eyes brightened and was much more interested when his bff mentioned that if he married jj then he would be under the same household registry. His ultimate goal was to be under Li's family registry bc technically he's a foster son. He's not legally under Li, and that gives him immense insecurity bc of his separation issues as a kid.
-zq told jj he could marry her and he could take their last name. That should be a huge hint as to what his ultimate goal is: to be a Li, not to have jj. When a couple marries, doesn't the female usually, in common practice, take the male's marital last name, not the other way around. But zq didn't want jj to take his last name, instead he wanted to take her's.
-if they married, they would've ended up divorced. it would've been a miserable marriage for jj. Jj asked zq what he would do if they kissed. zq gave a typical brotherly answer and said he would stick her in a freezer to cool off. When jj mentioned about having sex between them zq was disgusted. So would it be fair for JJ to be in a relationship with a man that won't kiss her or be intimate with her??? What kind of a romantic relationship is this?

2. The story was set up, from the very beginning, of the relationship between the three (ZQ and JJ as siblings, LX and JJ with romance)
-although jj refers to them both as brothers, there were subtle and significant differences/clues that separated the two males' roles towards fl. zq lived under the same roof with jj and called her dad "dad". While lx lived in a different apt, a floor above and called jj's dad "li dad". The different "dad" referrals already shows a relational difference as dad is more close, like an actual father, while "li dad" is more like a close uncle. This shows that zq is the real son while lx is more like a neighbourly brother.

3. Love triangle and hexagon love line is very swiftly and responsibly handled and ended. I quite liked how the characters were so mature about handling rejection. This drama didn't drag, instead they explained it well.
-JJ reassured zq's insecurity about him being left out and not being picked by explaining that, although legally on paper they aren't family, in her heart he is already family. In her heart, the family registry has zq as oldest son. That was the pivotal moment for him to understand that jj didn't abandon him when she picked lx. He was only hurt and mad bc he felt abandoned again, this strains from his childhood abandonment issues from his mom.
-Mingyue liked LX bc of that one moment when he complimented and consoled her when they were adolescents. Her crushes were very fickle since it was in highschool. She liked zq first and then switched to lx on the same day. She realized, she like the idea of liking someone but not actually being liked back. She liked the feeling and ideology of having a crush bc she can fantasize. I like how respectful and mature LX handled in rejecting Mingyue. He had no clue she even liked him, he always thought she liked ZQ. Plus, even when they stayed in contact for 9 years, all convo content was about JJ. He basically asked her to keep tabs for him bc he wanted to know what jj did daily and he wanted to see pics of jj. Mainly bc that was his only sole salvation that kept him going and living during those years in Singapore. Anyway, he apologized to Mingyue for misleading her into liking him, which he really didn't have to apologize. But he gave her a stage to step down so as not to embarrass herself. That was very very considerate of him.

I think it's just preferences. This is more of a family genre, it's heart warming and heart wrenching. I usually don't like family genre but this one was phenomenal to me. I rewatched it many many times. It was relatable in the sense that people that were once close to us become familiar strangers when they leave us. I think this drama did a great job in it.