according to red moon pact ,qin lan's future husbands name is Bai Luo but there is no character with this name…
There were videos fans took of her and Zhao Yibo filming scenes together, and they've also taken private photos and vlogs together, so I thought their characters were a CP... maybe his character changes his name? On the other hand she looks super different in some of her character cards so maybe it gets tragic and Bai Luo ends up being someone else...
Whaaatt their chemistry is the best tho, like I watch a lot of stuff and here the chemistry surprised me because…
I'm also currently watching FP and it has no romance, fl doesn't have feelings for ml. I didn't feel their chemistry strongly especially compared to some of YZ's other partners, and usually I like YZ's acting but FP isn't her best acting. I really like the focus on women and their friendships but don't like how they put her in situations to constantly get saved by the male lead, and how the male lead is mooching off so much of her earnings. And if I were to compare the chemistry, it's like I can tell the FP leads are actors whereas in SC I can feel the characters' inner fight (inside them) between inner conflict vs a strong attraction to each other. Which surprised me because they acted that surprisingly well like it's the best acting I have seen from LY and SY both
I tried several times to watch this. I don't feel any chemistry between them. I write romance and read romance…
Whaaatt their chemistry is the best tho, like I watch a lot of stuff and here the chemistry surprised me because it's actually the best I've seen in a long time lol
no it's not about his inability to feel emotions, which she accepts him fully for, it's about his Avoidant attachment…
Her issue with him was that on her bday and also at the airport, she was hurt by him not seeing her seriously enough to let her share his troubles, him keeping a distance with his "don't want to drag you down" excuse, which is avoidant attachment style and something I've also done. He confessed the whole picture of how he felt about her to a plant so she had no idea about everything that was on his mind, only we the viewers knew, and his misleading words on her b'day made her misunderstand. She thought that he only liked her like a stray cat he brought home and didn't value or trust her enough to take her seriously and depend on her as partners. It didn't help that he didn't clear that up. It made her feel insecure and she didn't want to be in such an insecure relationship. Self-love doesn't necessarily mean blocking him out, it's different for everyone and for her it was focusing on her career and prioritising her own needs. Plus she didn't hate him she was in love with him and it was him or no one for her. I guess it's the story's way of making a point on sorting oneself out before being ready for a relationship just as it did with the 2nd couple in the finale.
He wasn't making leaps to change just for her, she was the catalyst speeding his change and she was actively helping him on that, but he was changing more for himself- he was already seeking therapy before he met her and also it's because he wanted her for himself since the first time he saw her(wrist hurting, brought her home, jealousy etc).
People with alexithymia can also follow avoidant attachment style in their relationships but it's a separate thing, and she only knew alexithymia as the thing that he's working on/linked to his healing. Both are not mental disorders but personality traits/patterns that may have formed as a result of his childhood upbringing/trauma. They're the result not the trigger point, at least not in this case, there were other things that triggered his trauma but it wasn't her. He couldn't read when he hurt her so she conveyed in a way he could understand that, which isn't stabbing/triggering him. It was more like the story was making an example of how traits that formed as a result of past trauma etc can affect relationships. And how relationships can only work if both parties make persistent efforts and there's warmth and love that help in healing. As for his trauma, he was stuck in the hospital corridor where his mom passed and she accompanied him to walk out of it.
After ep 17, it felt like the FL dumped half her IQ points and any sense of real compassion when she started insisting…
no it's not about his inability to feel emotions, which she accepts him fully for, it's about his Avoidant attachment style, I'm also like him and it's caused similar problems in relationships, friendships. The issue here is because he doesn't let her in to share his troubles and pushes her away while also wanting this confusing situation where he'd be keeping her hanging, emotionally romantically invested in him without a guarantee if he can reciprocate. Which is exhausting and cruel, he can't feel emotions but she can and she'd be torturing herself. So she chooses self-love over romantic love and only accepts a relationship after he's somewhat figured himself out.* But even during that time she secretly helps to clear his name and then afterwards, helps him in his career, helps him to heal from his traumas and accepts him fully. What more can you ask from a girl seriously. I can relate to him and I wish I could meet someone like her who'd be so loving and patient with me lol
*A big theme in the drama is women not losing themselves in relationships, which her mom always speaks about and can be seen in all the women's relationships basically
i hope it's revealed in s3 that gihun's friend jungbae was intentionally put into this round of games by front man/organizers to teach gihun a 'lesson'- otherwise it's too much of a coincidence that he's in the games the same year gihun returns. plus it feels weirdly repetitive that gihun always unites with a friend in there (sangwoo in s1) so i feel like it'll be neat if jungbae was put in there intentionally
another relationship that felt repeated was the elderly mom-adult son relationship, and i get that it's probably something the director relates to but i wish it was a bit fresher, say an elderly couple or mom-daughter or something new idk
for me all cdramas have been not so great this year, I'm a wuxia/xianxia fan but this year I found them too repetitive…
oh I also don't get why they wrote FL like that, so many dramas dumb the FL and make the ML cool at work that I've become numb to it and quickly sped through it. fortunately it's a small part, basically her character's been working well for her company and was promised this promotion, after which she was going to move out of her shared house, but others cheated and snagged that position twice. I saw that in china her character was the most popular drama character of the month and they like her because she's relatable for them. I've also come to fast forward or watch 2x 3x speed like you lol until it comes to the better/more enjoyable bits in a drama, and if I don't like most of it i stop watching. I get put off from the start if a drama seems to be following a recycled formula and doesn't engage emotions in an authentic way, which has been the case for most wuxia/xianxia this year for me, the fantasy bits were fine but the characters feel recycled
Modern Cdramas are giving me a headache this year, I just can't with the nonsense. I'd rather watch a wuxia/xianxia…
for me all cdramas have been not so great this year, I'm a wuxia/xianxia fan but this year I found them too repetitive or cringe that I just couldn't get through most of them. I think I've only completed five cdramas this year? Some of them with difficulty lol. And I've long stopped watching modern cdramas, but I gave this a chance and stuck around for the actors. I thought this would be cliche but I was surprised because it got better and unique the more I watched. The second half was better because the relationships between all the characters are relatable and there are some quoteworthy lines, it feels close to life, authentic and not the same old recycled stuff like most cdramas lately. The ending was perfect, might be the best finale I've seen in a long time. But I think the biggest standout was the chemistry in this, it really surprised me, like how they portrayed the tension and attraction between their characters. Surprisingly everyone was good at acting especially the leads, their acting was emotional and authentic which is a bit rare in cdramas for me. Especially Shen Yue's acting was so good I think it's the best acting I've ever seen from her and Lin Yi. Anyway, I've also watched Amidst a Snowstorm but didn't complete it. I completed Best Choice Ever but I didn't like the mom there, but I love the mom in Smile code she's one of the nicest moms I've seen in a cdrama lol. Overall if I had to recommend a modern cdrama of 2024 it'll have be Smile Code I think
finally have time to catch up on smile code. stop sleeping on this gem people! people who aren't watching this are seriously missing out ! i want to write a longer review after i finish watching altho i'm kind of reluctant to complete it
just started watching, pretty good really! the vibe & cinematography are great and feel different from the repetitive kinda cdramas lately. shen yue and lin yi are good too and they have chemistry
Is it just me or does anyone else suspect JR (JNs bestie)? Something is off about her. I think she put JN under…
it could also be the producer dude, he's antagonistic in the preview, deceptive and greedy enough that he could've plotted it. like he heard jn sing, saw he could make money off her, spied on her and secretly informed the director, got men to steal jn's money so that she'd get in trouble and resort to calling him for help, fall into his trap
as for juran, what bugged me was that she never tried to say anything or help jn when jn was accused, it was only when jn was kicked out to the street & they were alone that she said anything. since juran also backs off of auditioning for lead roles maybe she's just that type of person who's scared to speak up, or the weight of her family and sister held her back. i've only read the translated part of the webtoon but all i know is that she's just jn's sidekick and later has something with youngseo, that's it
Nah you're not getting my point lol. Vivi is too precious to wa, she's her supporter, only family and the one she protects as guardian, losing her is way too big of a loss. So why cant it just involve four and wa only? Vivi didn't 'play a part in it', she was sacrificed
(It's not that I'm overlooking the fantasy/time reversal bit and only seeing the romance, it's because wa couldn't reverse vivi's death so i was connecting its significance to the core storyline which is the relationship bit. Since this genre is fantasy romance with time manipulation concept, the core storyline is the relationship between 2fl (whether they'll be able to overcome obstacles and be together) and the fantasy/time manipulation part provides/resolves conflict related to that plot. From the beginning wa's been dealing with extrapersonal conflicts i.e. accidents happening outside of their control which wa reverses with her power. Vivi's murder is also the same but wa couldn't reverse it, so it seemed to be no longer related to the fantasy part of the story, so maybe it's there to provide a hurdle/crisis for wa's power and her relationship with four, lead her to either grow/lose her power or for her to break up/separate from four. This is what i was referring to as the possible reason vivi dies for the plot. You're basically saying it needs to happen to vivi because it needs to affect wa in a big way & is the catalyst to the big crisis in the story right? Actually even though vivi is precious to wa, this doesn't need to involve vivi, it can be something related to four and wa only. But even if it involves vivi, does she really need to be murdered like that? If it's irreversible it costs a bit too much (it's not like we're sociopaths), something a bit less damaging is still enough for the story/wa to be led to a big crisis. Even if wa ends up with four, losing vivi will forever leave a part of her sad and it's not a cathartic tragedy because it was caused by an external non-character (that's how it seems rn).
If vivi murder is so vital for the climax/crisis as you say, then to soften the blow a better way to build up to it could be to show an antagonistic force behind it. For example, can either show that their powers have a side effect/are connected to the accidents and fatalities, show more of that connection. Or can show four's stepmom caused four's accident/has links to mafia/is violent/has men stalk wa (& then revealed that killer is hired by four's stepmom as revenge.) Etc. If the killer is really just a random strange man vivi met at the concert just a few hours ago, even if she & wa had visions as usual, it's not proper buildup to a climax/crisis and is like cheating. Or, like i said earlier, an alternative is to not involve vivi at all, the crisis can be something involving four and wa only, that can still be intense enough without sacrificing the lil sis.)
I'm not questioning how come she's dead, but rather /why/ she needed to die for the story, which is a romance. So it's not about seeing it in trailers etc but rather the writing choices and morality. ((This bit is not my concern but since you mentioned it I'll just say, previews are often misleading & often get reversed/end up being a dream, just like Four's accident was previewed and it was reversed. It wasn't a death it was a save for me since Wa prevented it. As for the quoted line, it says the possibility/threat is for their love, which means breaking up/separating in some way, it sounds no different from the arc of couples overcoming any obstacle that prevents them from ending up together.)) But anyway that's not what i meant when i said it felt like it shouldn't have happened, i meant plot wise, couldn't the writer's point/goal be achieved without making this particular narrative choice? like there better be a very good justifiably valid reason for making fl's supportive lil sis who is a child get murdered (and not just angst for the sake of angst)
yeah maybe the way they cut off parts is why it ends up feeling like it shouldn't have happened or that it would be avoided just like four's accident was, and usually when there's tragedy the storytelling and vibes are different. the tags here don't warn it either. i just felt like, what point can't be proven without having to do that to poor vivi and wa
He wasn't making leaps to change just for her, she was the catalyst speeding his change and she was actively helping him on that, but he was changing more for himself- he was already seeking therapy before he met her and also it's because he wanted her for himself since the first time he saw her(wrist hurting, brought her home, jealousy etc).
People with alexithymia can also follow avoidant attachment style in their relationships but it's a separate thing, and she only knew alexithymia as the thing that he's working on/linked to his healing. Both are not mental disorders but personality traits/patterns that may have formed as a result of his childhood upbringing/trauma. They're the result not the trigger point, at least not in this case, there were other things that triggered his trauma but it wasn't her. He couldn't read when he hurt her so she conveyed in a way he could understand that, which isn't stabbing/triggering him. It was more like the story was making an example of how traits that formed as a result of past trauma etc can affect relationships. And how relationships can only work if both parties make persistent efforts and there's warmth and love that help in healing. As for his trauma, he was stuck in the hospital corridor where his mom passed and she accompanied him to walk out of it.
*A big theme in the drama is women not losing themselves in relationships, which her mom always speaks about and can be seen in all the women's relationships basically
another relationship that felt repeated was the elderly mom-adult son relationship, and i get that it's probably something the director relates to but i wish it was a bit fresher, say an elderly couple or mom-daughter or something new idk
as for juran, what bugged me was that she never tried to say anything or help jn when jn was accused, it was only when jn was kicked out to the street & they were alone that she said anything. since juran also backs off of auditioning for lead roles maybe she's just that type of person who's scared to speak up, or the weight of her family and sister held her back. i've only read the translated part of the webtoon but all i know is that she's just jn's sidekick and later has something with youngseo, that's it
(It's not that I'm overlooking the fantasy/time reversal bit and only seeing the romance, it's because wa couldn't reverse vivi's death so i was connecting its significance to the core storyline which is the relationship bit. Since this genre is fantasy romance with time manipulation concept, the core storyline is the relationship between 2fl (whether they'll be able to overcome obstacles and be together) and the fantasy/time manipulation part provides/resolves conflict related to that plot. From the beginning wa's been dealing with extrapersonal conflicts i.e. accidents happening outside of their control which wa reverses with her power. Vivi's murder is also the same but wa couldn't reverse it, so it seemed to be no longer related to the fantasy part of the story, so maybe it's there to provide a hurdle/crisis for wa's power and her relationship with four, lead her to either grow/lose her power or for her to break up/separate from four. This is what i was referring to as the possible reason vivi dies for the plot. You're basically saying it needs to happen to vivi because it needs to affect wa in a big way & is the catalyst to the big crisis in the story right? Actually even though vivi is precious to wa, this doesn't need to involve vivi, it can be something related to four and wa only. But even if it involves vivi, does she really need to be murdered like that? If it's irreversible it costs a bit too much (it's not like we're sociopaths), something a bit less damaging is still enough for the story/wa to be led to a big crisis. Even if wa ends up with four, losing vivi will forever leave a part of her sad and it's not a cathartic tragedy because it was caused by an external non-character (that's how it seems rn).
If vivi murder is so vital for the climax/crisis as you say, then to soften the blow a better way to build up to it could be to show an antagonistic force behind it. For example, can either show that their powers have a side effect/are connected to the accidents and fatalities, show more of that connection. Or can show four's stepmom caused four's accident/has links to mafia/is violent/has men stalk wa (& then revealed that killer is hired by four's stepmom as revenge.) Etc. If the killer is really just a random strange man vivi met at the concert just a few hours ago, even if she & wa had visions as usual, it's not proper buildup to a climax/crisis and is like cheating. Or, like i said earlier, an alternative is to not involve vivi at all, the crisis can be something involving four and wa only, that can still be intense enough without sacrificing the lil sis.)