Neutrino7

No no I actually admire your consistency in that case. It's one thing if you see this as morally grey in both instances but usually people apply double standards depending on the gender of the perpetrator which i think is hypocritical.

My question is how would you see the scene if genders are reversed? It's my favorite exercise to remove any inherent bias in my judgement.

How exactly is he pure evil? He doesn't harm innocent people and he is only trying to survive. You expect him to take all the abuse and die? Do you think people won't fight back when constantly abused? I'd act exactly the same if I were in his place, heck, I'd be worse.

And for your info, not having emotions doesn't equate to being evil. Plenty of people have no emotions but don't hurt or abuse others. Plenty of people are full of emotions and are mass killers. The idea that having emotions is tied to being good is laughable.

Why did she needed him to have less physical strength? Do you see the implications? Like sure he went through with it and all but the fact is she drugged him to make him weak so she could have no resistance from him. Do you see how creepy and wrong was that?

I guess its the "I want to get laid I don't care if you want it or not" attitude which made me feel bad. If she had tried to seduce him then it would show that she at least values him as a person but here she was acting like he was a sex toy. Complete disregard for his consent you know?
I sound like a broken record but they have changed and whitewashed ML a lot but have kept FL largely the same. It makes her look bad but guess they thought people wouldn't care? IDK.

But how is that any better? She drugs him so he wouldn't be able to fight back (if he was inclined to do so) and then takes advantage of him. It was like a spiritual roofie. It makes the target weak so the assaulter can do whatever they want. Sure we can assume that he was into it and all that but FL's intent is what counts doesn't it? She was predatory and entitled and that scene made me sick to my stomach.

Yup. Like, just flip the genders and see how creepy the setting, the dialogue and the scene look? I mean, its one thing if she planned to seduce him, but she literally plans to render him helpless and mute. That's so evil imo. Idk how anyone can defend her or enjoy the scene but apparently some do if you read the comments here.

I know many people felt uncomfortable but there were also many comments here calling the scene hot and congratulating FL for tapping that. I found that icky which is why I made a comment. And yes SFL saved ML for her own reasons but that's exactly what FL was doing in the original arc isn't it? She saved him from death because she wanted to kill him herself. The only difference is ML falls for her while he doesn't fall for SFL.

Yes, SFL is selfish and doesn't care for other people's lives but its still true that she is the sole reason for ML's continued existence. Without her, ML would have died and the arc would not even exist.

Yeah like I was waiting for this drama to air but so far I'm disappointed in the writing. ML was evil in the source material but he's super whitewashed in the drama yet FL has remained more or less the same. Its off putting and makes it hard for the audience to like her. Its a pity really.

Would you say the same if genders were flipped and he did what she did?

No need to apologize I was just fed up with the double standards. Honestly I liked novel characterizations better but the show has toned down ML a lot and it has made me resent FL in all arcs. Wish they had put more effort in script and kept characters consistent.

Orchid was also a better written character than FL of this story. TTEOM has phenomenal leads who have great chemistry with each other but I'm not very satisfied with the writing. I'm usually critical about plot holes and obsess over character integrity and LBFAD was one of those rare gems where every character was well written, made decisions that were both believable and consistent with character motivations. So its super funny to see people dismiss Orchid as "silly FL" when she is one of the best female protagonists I have seen in cdramas.

How's ML in dream arc a murderer? Isn't he supposed to be the god of war who is fighting evil to save innocent people? Please note that I'm not talking about original story but about dream arc.
Also can you say you'd be okay with the story line if we flip genders and ML drugs and sleeps with FL? A lot of comments here are cheering her for doing what she did but I think they wouldn't find it so hot if genders were flipped.

Unpopular opinion but its super funny to see all the hate comments against SFL in dream arc. Like yeah, sure she's jealous and conniving but without her stealing crystal ML would have simply died and there would have been no wedding, no love story. If FL did what she did people would be talking about ML owing her for life but since she's SFL she's evil? And let's not even talk about how FL was literally going to rape ML because she thought she was owed sex from her spouse? People would be rioting if a man said that to his wife and drugged her so that he could get what he was owed from her and went through it . And remember it was their first time so its extra icky to think about. Doesn't matter if he got into it, doesn't matter if he was attracted to her. What she did was wrong and would be considered as rape in any country with a good legal system. But guess people are not ready for that conversation , they'd rather call SFL names and put all blame on her because it makes them uncomfortable to see who FL really is.

Btw, this post isn't about absolving SFL, I don't care about her either way I'm just saying she's not any worse than girl we are supposed to root for.

She will not change imo. She might feel conflicted but she will ultimately betray him.

Are you talking about her exchanging her eye and fate with him? My problem with that is she didn't do it for him, she did it for the world. Remember like DFQC in LBFAD she can't let ML die. So whatever sacrifices she made so far are for self serving purposes. They aren't because of love or compassion. Of course I don't expect her to show either to him and I get why she's harsh to him but I don't see why I should root for their love story. He's moved by her because he is abused and starving for love and he will get obsessed with her but its so one sided. She will betray him and he will only be saved because of chance. So imagine if SFL didn't give him the magic scale to shield his heart? He'd be dead and FL would be in future, congratulating herself for a job well done. How exactly I'm supposed to cheer for their love story here?

She is a hypocrite because she has compassion for everyone else, including fox demon who steals energy from people but not for ML. She is prejudiced against him and thinks he's inherently evil and questions his every action. She has literally seen what he has endured since childhood and yet thinks he's detestable for fighting back or for not forgiving those who try to murder him. She sounds like a sheltered and privileged person who doesn't understand trauma at all. She can use "oh he will ruin the world in future" as an excuse to mistreat him today but that doesn't mean she is morally right you know? It's like killing baby Hitler problem. A time traveler might kill baby Hitler to save millions but that doesn't mean they'd be morally justified in doing so. They'd be guilty of murder even if they did it for greater good.

Like I said elsewhere, ML is not sufficiently evil for me to root for his utter destruction without giving him a chance. The more the show whitewashes him, more it makes FL and other characters look bad, more it takes away from the potential romance between them. I'm sure more people would feel the same as the show goes on. I really love ML/FL actors, they have great chemistry but for now I'm thinking of taking a break because its getting on my nerves.

It's quite funny how different perceptions can be. To me it seems like cdrama is full of so called strong female characters who always put their goals above their supposed love for ML. In contrast ML falls in love and becomes obsessed with FL and then puts her well being above and beyond everything. It's very clear to me that cdramas are catering to female fans who want to see abosulte devotion from ML while FL barely reciprocates at the same level.

Personally I value plot integrity over romance. And I want both parties to be equally invested in the said romance. I liked FL in the novel. She was justified in betraying ML because ML was sadistic and evil. But I am low key disliking her in the show. And contrary to what you're implying, it has nothing to do with her gender or how handsome ML looks when he gets endlessly tortured by everyone. I would still dislike her character even if you flip the genders because her character in the show is off putting.

Exactly. I wanted her to be like Orchid from LBFAD. Orchid loved DFQC just as much as he loved her and she saw his side of things. Didn't hold him responsible for the crimes he committed when he had no emotions. Compare that with FL here who will punish ML for the crimes he has not even committed yet. She is a self righteous hypocrite. The romance and sacrifices will be one sided at best and it would be difficult to excuse her actions.

I sympathized with FL in the novel. ML was unquestionably evil there. But they have whitewashed him for the drama while keeping FL more or less the same. That's why its hard for me to cheer for her here. It'll only get worse from here because he will not be evil yet she will betray him just as she did in the novel. How I am supposed to buy the love story after that?

Where did I say that? And he didn't murder her family yet so she is not morally justified in killing him, you can't punish people for future crimes you know especially when future is not set in stone.

Disney Movie? I actually wanted him to be more evil because at least then her actions would make sense. As it is, he's not evil and only reason he's being witch hunted is because he's born evil. Miss me with that shit.