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Interesting sort-of addictive short drama
I really liked this short drama, it's well-done considering the length & production budget. Scenes are framed nicely by the female director. The drama was shot 2 years ago but has a tighter story than other more-recent productions. Main cast is not well-known but have done well / okay. It hasn't had that many views, so I'm leaving a review for all those curious:STORY: 20 years ago King got himself a second wife (daughter of Right Chancellor) to have political leverage & had a son Prince Rui from her. His first wife, whom he claimed to love, got pregnant later and gave birth to twins: Yin Ci & Yin Zhou. Her carriage is attacked, she dies, the twins end up in different places:
Yin Zhou (ML) is designated as crown prince (over Prince Rui, first-born) & sent by king to be raised by a martial artist to keep him safe.
Yin Ci is raised as Zhaoxi by 'Master Gu', head of a secretive government body, an investigative/law enforcement agency called Xuanji Pavilion. Master is in a wheelchair. Master never tells him the truth of his lineage/parentage & that he is son of king & co-crown prince. Zhaoxi has weak health & is home-bound but is good natured & helps poor people a lot.
Master also raises another child, a girl, Luo Yuo (FL), who is actually the daughter of Left Chancellor who had killed his entire family over jealousy - he doesn't tell her of her lineage / parentage either. He raises her as an assassin / information gatherer.
Master has 3 kids of his own too: all are good-for-nothing, corrupt, extremely cruel, opportunistic & dumb. One is a successful merchant, the other is owner of a dance/prostitute den & expert in poisons, third is a martial artist who loves / is obsessed with Luo Yuo. Master is not close to any of them & they all hate him & want to succeed Xuanji Pavilion's leadership.
Master wants Luo Yuo to be next Master of Xuanji Pavilion & arranges her to be married off to Zhaoxi - he tells Luo Yuo he will only give her leadership if she marries him. Luo Yuo and Zhaoxi meet just once (for chess in garden). She agrees because he appears simple & harmless, & she wants to become Master to know the truth of her parentage. Poor Zhaoxi is happy.
I don't have the heart to tell what happens / is done to Zhaoxi & why he is presumed dead.
Luo Yuo needs a look-alike. Crown Prince Yin Zhou / ML who has just survived an assassination attempt has reason to believe Gu family (of Xuanji Pavilion) has something to do with it so he needs to infiltrate it and finds the perfect opportunity to do so when he finds out that 'wife' of dead Zhaoxi is looking for a look-alike.
Luo Yuo wants him to play husband's role till the official wedding when she will get leadership or till Zhaoxi is confirmed dead.
That's how their interaction, romance, sizzle, etc. starts. FL is most definitely attracted to him early on, while he comes to think of her as a fascinating creature who trusts no one and wants a different life. I don't know when they 'fell' in love but there are 3 kiss scenes, all well picturized. Ep. 13 has a risqué makeout scene that I don't usually see in C-dramas (C-dramas are more prudish usually). Amazingly, both feel rejected later on for the simple reason that ML creates distance since he has just found out her betrothed was his long-lost brother & he mourns the loss of him & her in a poem, which FL understands correctly as separation & longing. In Ep. 16, he's depressed. In Ep.17-18, she lays her heart, loneliness & disappointment in front of him. In Ep.20, ML says to her "For you, I'd die a thousand deaths" while all she says is "hurry back" & hugs him. FL's thoughts & emotions are internalized & seen in flashbacks only (especially in Ep.23, when she isn't sure that ML is hurt or alive & misses him). Nobody says I love you. It's not that kind of story.
Interestingly, FL comes to trust ML even though she doesn't know the truth about him (who he is, etc.) because he keeps helping her, risking his life, when she's in a fix. And ML clearly holds her in high regard: In Ep.20, he asks Master's son what the family's plan is, but keeps glancing at FL because he knows she's the brains & she will provide a solution what to do next.
I liked scenes in Ep.8-9, when FL risks her life to get a ledger, she has to paint 'plum blossoms' for a troubled murderous Prince consort who has it & does it successfully but then when she is drugged, she's rescued by ML & even though ML wanted the ledger too, he tells his guard to let her have it (of course he has a plan to root out corrupt officers once she goes through the ledger) but it showed development in their feelings. The attraction is obvious in the scene in Ep. 10, when ML is having the 'ritual bath' in her room & she is seated where she can see him, & he can see her.
I especially liked the proposal in the end by ML /Yin Zhou (crown prince) who calls Luo Yuo his beloved & tells her "I'm truly blessed to have found someone as clever as you in this life" & asks her to be a partner / adviser to him, not just a wife/lover. "There are thorny issues within my household. Will you lend a hand?" And she confirms her yes by a simple passionate kiss.
I also liked what he told his disapproving caddish father / king about FL, "I want to protect her all her life but she's not someone I need to protect but someone strong enough to stand side by side with me."
The fight scenes (between them & with others) are well-choreographed for a small-budget production. There's wire action too.
The main villain and his motivation is expected & predictable - but the one who killed Zhaoxi is a surprise revelation - even though it makes sense why that person did it.
The story is more about FL realizing her purpose in life & her own path, her own choice than any mystery & the way she makes her choice in Ep.24 is amazing.
Ep. 23, second-to-last episode, is slow & in my view, useless filler (except for the scene where FL misses ML).
Ep. 24 is flawless.
CAST:
FL is good in her role - her character is supposed to have a poker face (she never gave away how she felt or thought except in front of ML), her character is very graceful, mysterious, intelligent, seductive, & in command of her emotions & is a great fighter. She rescues ML & even the caddish king.
ML is also good. His role was more difficult because he likes FL but is jealous of this look-alike 'husband' / brother that she says she was deeply in love with. He also can see FL struggle with her wants & needs, her trust issues & the fact that she always works alone, never with a partner.
Zhaoxi is the most pitiful character in the drama, a sacrificial lamb caught between a power struggle & obsessive love.
There is no redeeming quality about Master Gu who selfishly endangered both Zhaoxi (son of king / co-crown prince of sorts) & Luo Yuo. He thought of everyone as a guinea pig. In fact I feel Zhaoxi & Luo Yuo would have been different people & protected themselves better if they had known the truth about their parentage.
Master Gu's adult children performed okay.
There is nothing nice about the coward / caddish king.
None of these actors is a thespian or great actor / actress, but they did okay & I liked the drama.
MUSIC:
Songs & lyrics are mostly melancholic, pleasant, & fit the scenes.
TITLE:
I don't understand why the title of the drama is 'In the Grip' / 'In the Palm.'
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This review may contain spoilers
Squabbling rich women, an omnipresent God-like FL, nonsense second-half, zero romance & racism
The drama centers around the masks people wear & how FL takes off the masks of all such people - poor, rich, imperial, women, men, whatever. Following are things I found problematic & idiotic in this drama (not necessarily in order):1) Ep.18-25: I think we the viewers DESERVED a proper resolution of FL & ML's relationship status than this half-baked lame-duck will-she-won't-she & constant humiliation & exploitation of ML at the hands of FL that has continued since Ep.18 (divorce) with ML only an after-thought of FL's to 'save' him from spring-snowfall!
In the beginning of this series, FL was an amazing woman of willpower, intelligence, courage & never-give-up kind of personality. Her problem was that she had been used & exploited by everyone close to her (her so-called parents & siblings), she learnt about different vocations & tricks by doing odd jobs on the streets, including that as a pot-chamber cleaner.
She was also on death-row & god knows what the jail guards did to her before she was 'saved' & swapped for on-death-bed-duke. Later on she found out she had been the OG noble baby all along but she doesn't fit anywhere, neither in low-brow or noble class because of her background & sudden riches. She also suffers from severe abandonment issues, because even now she's second-best for her mom, & everyone else - except for guys, of course. She also does not know who can love her as her independent self with the kind of jobs & life she had & wants to build.
That's the crux of FL.
ML is the ONLY ONE who has stood by her since he survived death-bed - yes, he was suspicious of her - but that was because of Jundai/same-face thing, he always admired her personality, her humane treatment of people & his family, & her ability to survive any situation by working around people. Her goal regarding the estate also impressed him. He is the ONLY ONE who has saved her before divorce & told her again and again that he liked her - the former pot-cleaning woman- than the scholar's daughter or Jundai or anyone else.
This guy is top military officer, can beat anyone in military sports, is a general, a titled guy, with no concubine or maid issues. He's a catch now just like he was one day one, when he was dead fish on death bed! And he has only had eyes for this woman. He is the ONLY ONE who knows how she operates, why she does & think the way she does & knows how to handle her & take her rejection again & again.
Even after divorce, ML has approached her to help her or save her or work with her in her plans for estate/Han/ empress/CP. He has been reduced to being exploited, humiliated & forever- doormat status by FL.
Their dialogues are stunted, their conversations are shallow, they have been circling around the same issues - marry again - for last 8 episodes - instead of having meaningful convo that takes plot forward. They don't laugh together, they are never happy together. And they are the leads!
FL has been reduced to a woman who has empathy for everyone except THIS GUY!!!! She's straight-forward & blunt with everyone except him! She is protective & loving to everyone but him! It's so infuriating to see so much imbalance.In Ep.23, FL actually took him on a tour of her old work life, I don't know why ML said 'you are different, be different.' & 'Would you have looked at me if I wasn't duke?' because what he should've said is 'I've loved, admired & supported you for a year, with & without marriage, if that doesn't convince you of my true heart or feelings, I don't know what will - because problem doesn't lie with me, it lies with you, you are insecure & have abandonment issues, if you have an empty heart, no one can fill it for you.'
Because that's the crux of it & we have been robbed of a proper romance arc & given a now-b**chy irritating FL who is almost god-like in her omniscience & power, who is still acting like she doesn't know what ML is after or talking about. Playing dumb to extend the plot when there is none.
It was good that they got divorced simply because both deserve a proper wedding - which both didn't get the first time around. But the drama just didn't know how to create an actual relationship of equals between FL & ML, or cozy comfy chemistry. Hence the wooden FL & ML & wooden love story.
2) I also find it extremely distasteful that ML's best friend - who is also his compatriot in war - Gen. Qi has been angling & proposing FL - in any other series how can ML trust Gen. Qi to not kill him in battlefield just to get to his wife/ ex-wife? So that entire setup went too far as well.
3) The second problem with the drama is that we were shown one-constant in FL's life: her maid in Liu household: Bitao (who was sent with her from Wei household) - they had formed a sisterhood & bond over the course of 17 episodes & then Bitao betrays FL for dramatic contrivance which made no sense considering the kind of power FL, her actual mom & men siding with FL held. Plus, Bitao was necessary to show that FL could build trust with people & lead them & she would not be betrayed by them. That was taken away by the nonsensical betrayal & then Bitao's death. She gets maid of king's consort (her mom's maid), for second-half of the drama & her interactions did not feel the same anymore. It seemed like the show wanted to start from zero again.
Ep. 15-16 did not make any sense & regressed FL's entire journey so far & that of her maid Bitao's. Why would FL (Fake-Rao, now actual Rao) beg, plead & want approval of all these vicious women ALL of whom tried to kill her in previous episodes, but most of all to call that king's consort 'mother' with tears in her eyes when she had done nothing motherly for 20+ years, abandoned her daughter, was not invited to the wedding of that daughter, tried to kill an innocent woman for that daughter, & now was all weepy & confused because FL's life once again was in her hands? Why would the magnificent FL reduce herself so pathetically?
Also, maid Bitao's actions did not make sense - in a proper drama writing, she would've changed sides a long time ago, because First Aunt was an old hag living with 2 other hags, while Lu's had a Duke, a General, & there was Gen. Qin too to back up FL/Lady, & she could've easily disclosed First Aunt's role in exploiting her in front of king's consort - who was going to kill FL for providing fake evidence. I think the drama took away all the bond-building between these 2 women & created a backstabbing maid just for dramatic contrivance.
I've heard & seen these kinds of scenes - women being cruel to other women - are TRP gold in conservative societies' TV dramas (e.g. South Korea, India, Turkey, Pakistan, China & Spain) where audience loves a woman being humiliated, insulted & degraded by other women. What happened in Ep.15-16 had no place in the kind of character arc & story built for 14 episodes, between FL, her maid & the actual culprits, there was a better / funner way to disclose the truth. Extremely B-grade write-up.
This drama is a hit because it shows a bunch of rich hysterical scheming women all conspiring against FL & FL beating all of them AND all of the men at their own games.
4) FL is shown to be better at all kinds of politics, strategy, in court, in farms, in households, on the streets & knows how people will react & do, she can manage money, gold, jewelry better than any businessman / rich woman. She knows age-old rituals - that she had never seen or heard of - & is better at doing everything than seasoned, nobility & imperial women. We are told it is because she grew up around down-on-their-luck scholars & concubines & that gave her world-view on human nature. This is a stretch & unrealistic, considering she grew up poor & was married off after 5 days as Fake-Rao & has had no tutor besides the very young maid Bitao as support. Besides, as a poor woman, she was busy earning a living, not trying to find out how these super-rich people's female households operate or men live or what kind of grand gesture will move some grandma or guy - who have seen it all!
In Ep.1-8 I doubt any newbie former pot-cleaning woman would have managed to successfully do a grandma birthday banquet when she's been a Fake-Rao for only a few weeks & doesn't know the customs & traditions of these rich 'imperial-linked' households. Not only that, she successfully did the temple rituals too & managed to save the entire Lu family by recognizing an old imperial jade!!!!!!
5)I guess her noble birth is supposed to explain away why she's sooooooooooo good at everything..........This is something I've seen C-dramas perpetuate again & again, but especially this year - that a person of noble birth WILL ALWAYS BE BETTER THAN A POVERTY-STRICKEN PERSON -when both are raised in similar poor/low-class environment, a noble will make most of the opportunities, will have more intellect & be more successful than any poor-born / so-called low-caste/class person.
I've seen this time & again in Chinese dramas, & I don't know why this racism / casteism is given outrightly in C-dramas, that people of noble birth will be better (intellectually, physically) than people born in / from 'low-class' poverty-stricken backgrounds & any lead of 'noble' birth will end up in position of power / nobility because they are innately able to better handle anything & everything & make most of the opportunities than co-called 'low-class' births. I saw it this year in the cringe-fest Against the Current, Royal Betrothal, Blossoms of Power, The First Jasmine, Ashes to Crown etc.
It's great that FL's Fake-Rao was a pot-cleaner/did odd jobs to make ends meet. BUT the big reveal of Ep.1 that FL may be OG-Rao's twin (who was presumed killed in drum on orders of First Aunt) makes me wonder what obsession C-dramas have with 'nobility' & so-called 'blue-blooded' people ending up in their rightful place in blue-blooded households??? It's almost like C-dramas perpetuate the thought that 'true blue blooded' woman had the 'mental capability' (due to being of noble birth) to learn from every person she met in poverty & was intelligent enough to maneuver even these prestigious households while her 'siblings', the sister & brother who she grew up with in poverty-stricken family, where her father was selling her, those siblings are good-for-nothing, gullible, had no job, no hard work, just free-loaders, & spent ALL of the money only to come looking for Fake-Rao in capital again & again to get more money & now have ended up at enemy Lord Han's mansion, eating meat in Ep. 8 without realizing they are hostages! It even gets worse when we are told later on how her 'mother' used & exploited her & never gave a damn about her life even though she worked hard for her & her 'siblings' - so no one who grew up with FL had good nature, grace, humanity, sense, smarts, wit or courage, in fact that entire family who 'raised' her was full of free-loading exploitative corrupt people.
I don't know where this mindset comes from but it has NO PLACE IN 21ST-CENTURY WORLD - & this drama is made for 21st century women with a 21st century sensibility of showing female empowerment against all odds & is a ratings hit because 21st century women have probably liked her role & story arcs. These kind of story-telling & character-arcs are incredibly racist in my view.
But the drama takes it a step further - FL is just BETTER THAN EVERYONE IN TOWN, rich or poor, at EVERYTHING!!!!! She knows more than the grandmas, the aunts, the moms, the young ladies who have studied more than she ever did, she knows more than the king, the crown prince, the other princes etc. etc.
5) One of the most lackluster male leads in C-dramas this year has to be this guy / ML, who is given a cardboard, robotic, hanger-on role, he has zero personality, zero interactions as a 'human being / son/ grandson/ friend' with his family or buddies or his male servant. The actor can act, but he looks & sounds & acts robotic. He is shown as being enthralled by her beauty the second she's in his house (& FL is not THAT pretty btw as everyone is calling her, SFL is prettier) - even though it's the face of the scheming evil woman he swore he'd never even see. For him to be jealous of & pull a sword at his army friend over a woman he is having conflicting feelings over is reprehensible. It shows he has no good sense & is easily controlled by women. How is this guy a general???? How is he a catch, if not for the title?! Lord Han is a guy I've seen in vertical dramas. I guess this is his big break - to play yet another male robot in a drama full of male robots.
6) Actress playing FL is acting the hell out of the 2 roles, that's for sure.
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Cool, sober, sexy, intelligently handled drama on insecurities
This is the best Chinese 'vertical' dramas that I've seen. Another one of the ML's dramas, 'Love Lost and Found' (also known as 'Divorce, My Happily Ever After'), also has a very good story and execution as well. And both are a pleasant surprise. Unlike the usual C-short, V-dramas where the primary goal is to show a cold 'CEO' being hot and cold towards the 'cinderella' FL or makes an alliance with her to bring someone down, with those hand grabs and pushes and make out scenes splintered about, 'Summer Rose' actually HAS depth and a deeply moving story and character arc for both ML and FL. And it's been shot and edited really very well.FL is an artist, she is a talented photographer and is a bit of a hippy, mercurial, having colorful friends and associations. She is a cynical and jaded young woman whose tycoon father had an extra marital affair, which ruined her mother's already fragile mental health (mother was bipolar). Her mother killed herself, while the father married his mistress and had another child with her. So the FL's biggest desire is to be loved but her biggest fear is that the husband won't be faithful, and this thought process makes her accept an arranged marriage with someone who has been rejected by her step-sister. This thinking also leads her away from that man when she sees herself falling for him.
ML has been raised to be a serious, responsible, sensible, studious professional (I think he is heading a bank). He is a typical workaholic who went from education to work and has neither had time for 'girlfriends' nor had the inclination by the looks of it. He is called 'dull' 'dry' 'robotic' by various people in the drama. He is definitely a quiet person, not a chatter box. To the FL, however, he is stable and sexy. I've watched both the version with music and the one without background score and I think the story works better with the silences than with the music, because FL's fears and ML's desires are unspoken but apparent. And it is good to hear his side of the story in the second half of the drama.
These two are a classic example of how two people may not be perfect for others, but are well-suited and well-matched for each other. FL's insecurities and assumptions; ML seeing FL having a life around him and beyond him, in her travels abroad for work; His realization that he is not seeking FL out of duty or an arrangement between their families, but because he likes; Her high opinion and regard for him; His passionate steadfastness towards her, and their final heart-to-heart communication about expectations from love and marriage, etc. are all handled in a subtle manner.
The entire cast is fine but the FL and ML are excellent. I've seen a few other dramas of the FL and she's a naturally beautiful girl but she is picturised exceptionally well here. She shines in this role and proves she can act. The ML is a brilliant actor who can actually emote, and has a face that actually moves (no obvious fillers / cosmetic work like other MLs). No matter what his actual or reported age, he looks 32-35 and that's ok. In my opinion, he is prettier in 'Love Lost and Found'.
Highly recommended.
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Very good adaptation of web-novel, spot-on chemistry & problems between leads, great OST
I read the novel & I think I left a comment about it when this first started. This is one of the best adaptations of a webnovel that I've seen so far. The actors playing the leads looked very good together, had very good chemistry. The leads look & sound the part they are supposed to play - worker/boss, naive newcomer versus industry hotshot leader. Their romantic relationship & work relationship was toxic & prime example of gaslighting. Their s*xual chemistry is very well done (even in the webnovel) - that's how it started in any case. They started out as a friend with benefits kind of scenario in the webnovel & while FL's feelings are clear, ML's feelings were not.The ML was not worth it as a boyfriend in the webnovel or in the series - he was too self-serving, arrogant, unempathetic & had his cake in an otherwise unworkable situation (boss/ mentor in a relationship with employee/ junior). It was very frustrating to see ML 'drawing a line' between boss persona & boyfriend persona & undermine FL or not understanding that she needed comfort or a few nice words at the end of a tough day. He WAS an arrogant jerk. BUT he did love her & she did love him & it's clear to see that too.
Some of the stuff between them termed 'misunderstandings' was contrived because an actual couple would've talked out about plenty of things than leaving it in the air FOR SIX YEARS!!!
The Norway aurora borealis scene where ML is crying his heart out with his friends watching was cringey only because of the friends (& their own crying!!! One of them even filmed the crying to later on send to FL!!!!) Other than that, when ML spouted the 'I love You' line 3 times in that scene, it was absolutely perfect & heart-breaking.
The important thing to remember is that he grew as a person, learnt from his mistakes, & decided to go after FL instead of living with regrets. FL also grew both as a woman with a backbone & as a an independent businesswoman. The proposal scene in the drama is well-done too.
Their breakup occurs in Ep. 21-22 - which IMO was too late to set the stage for the second arc of the story: which was the most important - the 3 years that it took fo the growth of FL as an independent leader / employer & businesswoman & how ML had to navigate himself back into her life slowly, while she set the pace. In the drama I think it was a break of 2 years, The scenes of her coming back to give a lecture at Lima was also brushed over as were the attempts of ML to win her parents (bringing gifts, taking time to see them) etc. Two episodes were too few for this important arc IMO.
The best scene of the drama was when FL breaks it up with ML saying 'I want to end this filthy, disgusting relationship'
PLUS, the drama did not show their after marriage life: which was underwhelming in the webnovel - they had a kid together, he was away on business all the time, she was busy with her own expanding business & they saw each other on weekends or something if I remember correctly. So they could've shown a version of married life too in the drama - as a post credits scene? I've read that Early Spring is getting a second season, so hopefully we'll see the leads in a new avataar with the basic chemistry in tact.
One very important arc of the webnovel was the shocking suicide of one of FL's best male friends, who had been troubled for a long time but still.... his books were taken by FL & it was a touching quiet reminder of his place in her life even after death.
I've noticed C-dramas are doing what K-dramas at one time were very good at: creating a couple you root for or romance you crave to see the last episode of with great OST.
This drama has great OST (especially the haunting start-credits song 'Her' sung by the actor Liu Liuning from 'Prisoner of Beauty'. the lyrics of that song are pretty spot on). 'Passing Sunny Days/ Sunshine', 'This Moment', 'You Should Know' 'You Are My Light' are also great.
ML & FL were styled appropriately too for the roles - the clothes, hair & makeup (& apartments) fit their roles.
Very good drama & well-done (faithful to source material) adaptation.
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VIRTUAL REALITY ESCAPIST FANTASY GAME HELPS ROMANCE & CHARACTER GROWTH, DOES NOT OVERTAKE REAL LIFE
One of the most handsome, good looking, and masculine-looking pretty boys working in Chinese drama industry right now is paired with Lu Yu Xiao in Love Between Lines, the 28 episode adaptation of web novel (Ya Xi) “Ga Xi" (轧戏) written by Zhang Zu Le (张祖乐). I did not like the novel that the series is based on. The novel’s 92 chapters are available in English language on 2 separate sites. The story in the webnovel is completely around and in the immersive virtual reality game and its players. The day jobs are standard fare fillers. This is the world of Live Action Role Playing Game. The male lead is a top-ranked NPC i.e. non-playable character not controlled by any one else, whereas the female lead buys a ticket to get a spot on the game to get closer to him. I did not like either of them in the novel, Hu Xiu is looking for a job as an interpreter (translating Chinese to English) and she lands in a hospital working under surgeons. She has a fiance’ who dumps her and her parents are getting divorced. Her father works as a music teacher who calls her mother a ‘morally bankrupt whore’ (Chapter 10).The 2 things that the drama took from this webnovel is a) the virtual reality or live action murder mystery set up (it was never clear to me whether they were in an actual game or just role playing on a large real set because they suggested use of VR in one episode and a few episodes later, it was live action role play.) The other thing the drama gets right is how the male lead is described in the webnovel.
In chapter 10, Hu Xiu describes the love interest - Qin Xiaoyi aka Xiao Zhi Yu as “Qin Xiaoyi’s face was firmly etched in her memory—a different Qin Xiaoyi from the one in a suit. Sharp brow bones and deep-set eyes, thin eyelids and tapered corners shaping a bewitching gaze; large, dark pupils flickering like a fawn’s; slightly protruding yet perfectly shaped lips that appeared haughty when pressed together—not conforming to a ruler’s standard, yet intensely distinctive. His jet-black short hair and sharp angles heightened the contrast of his face. Under light and shadow, his features were cleanly defined, veiling curiosity about the world with aloofness, gentleness, and kindness. In the game, he was dazzling; outside it, he left only silence for others. He truly didn’t seem like a boy who belonged in this ordinary urban life. Hu Xiu felt his romantic life must be far more extravagant than imagined. This was a face torn straight from a comic book—one that could easily attract admiring glances with the slightest indulgence, experience a thrilling, roller-coaster romance. A gentleman like him would never leave things unfinished—ah, it wouldn’t even matter if it ended heartbreakingly—After burying his heartaches to cultivate a more storied face, he still had youth to spare.” In Chapter 20, she thinks of him as “The Qin Xiaoyi she saw up close had fair skin and delicate features, sharp cheekbones and translucent eyes—yet his qualities felt distinctly different.” In chapter 40, his height is measured: “He stood proudly in front of the 184 cm mark (that’s 6 feet), his smirk in the photo both roguish and mischievous.” She is identified as being 165 cm tall (5 foot 4). In chapter 88, she describes him as “this large camel, astonishing in looks and extraordinary in build.”
The drama has nothing else in common with the webnovel and to call it an adaptation of the written word is wrong.
The drama can be split into the real world work environment and challenges the leads face as co-workers in the field of architecture, designing housing projects, sky scrapers, shops and parks and their interactions in the world of virtual reality games or live action role playing in which you are transported into a fantasy where you get to experience adventure quest in a different time period and get to be someone else for a few hours.
Love Between Lines combines a trending consumer-driven virtual extended reality dimension of Shanghai and China, the location-based entertainment virtual reality, or LBE VR. Plus, the male lead is an architect who designs the game’s structure matrix and his work enhances the VR experience for not just the players but for us, the viewers as well. All of this is weaved it into the drama as a prop, and I liked it.
The drama is shot beautifully (and it reminded me of those cozy South Korean romances with great BGMs and OSTs that have disappeared from that country in recent years.) Love between lines has very good songs: My favorites are ‘Start Over’ sung by Jin Wenqi, Closer sung by Baby J, Special Night sung by Wei Li’an and an Expectation named you sung by Yan Renzhong, At Dusk sung by Fangdong Demao.
I think Lu Yu Xiao is a brilliant actress with long term potential. She looks a bit like South Korean actress Kim Tae-ri. I first saw her in the 2023 drama ‘My Journey to You’ where she was paired with and in the tub with Ryan Cheng and had a side role. She was excellent in 2024’s ‘Blossoms in Adversity,’ another side character. Here she’s the female lead and very good as the female lead. She looks gorgeous, vulnerable, feisty, smart and emotes like a real person. This Hu Xiu had to give up her dream of studying architecture at university level because her father was ill and money was needed for his recovery. So she got a job as an administrative assistant in an architecture firm. But she continues to study privately and doesn’t let go of her passion and dreams. I did not like her parents. There’s a fine line between being overprotective and being overbearing and unfortunately you’ll see such parents in real life more often than not who put their own kids down for selfish reasons or because they don’t believe in their kids. Her parents used her all her life and were always meddling in her life. When she takes a risk and wants to try for an entry level job working as a graphic designer for architectural firm, her parents discourage her on the pretext that she had a safe future as a secretary or manager. Even at the end when she wants to be with the male lead, her parents, especially her father, wants her to break up with him because of their family’s past history with the male lead’s father. I mean, this South Korean makjang, Chinese and Japanese over the top noble idiocy expectation from children is a headache to watch. Also, it's refreshing to see the young woman as having a fiancé before she meets the male lead, instead of the puritanical tropes usually used in Chinese and South Korean romance dramas, where no one has dated anyone ever, certainly not the girl. Of course, the fiancé quickly turns to ex-fiancé because he dumps her right before the wedding to snag an heiress.
This journey is more about the female lead than the male lead in my opinion though there are some interesting elements given to the male lead’s character arc as well. His mother remarried after his father’s death - there’s a whole lot of Hamlet happening in his story line, but the unique thing was that he was disconnected from his own mother and vice versa. The mother’s husband’s son - the male lead’s love and work rival - is closer to her than her own son, he knows what she likes in food and gifts than the male lead. So that was a nice touch to show a blended broken family with secrets and resentments bubbling beneath the surface, in-spite of all the wealth, health and privilege. The other thing was the fact that male lead’s father had been an engineer who got blamed for the collapse of a stadium, and so, since the son chose a similar profession, building stuff, he used a fake name - to not get marginalized or blacklisted because of his father’s reputation. In a respect he could only live out his real name in the virtual reality location based entertainment setting. And I think that was a nice touch too because it added layers to his arc that his expressions didn’t.
The drama is nothing new minus the VR LBE and nice production frames and shots and great music. All of the generic tropes and eye candy moments we are used to seeing in Asian dramas are still there, it’s nothing new, but it’s well done, and that has made all the difference.
You can watch the rest of the review on my youtube channel @beginnings1 . In it, more drama-related info as well as a comparison of virtual reality entertainment field as well as dangers for kids and how social media and VR companies are being sued.
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Love Beyond the Grave is based on novel ‘Carrying A Lantern In Daylight,’ a 107-chapter Chinese fantasy xinxia romance written by Li Qing Ran. It is available in Chinese and English languages online. It’s actually a well-written novel with a solid story and a good epic star-crossed romance with a happy ending. [https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5458205 ] [https://www.novellist.co/novels/love-beyond-the-grave ] [https://www.readthedrama.com/novels/love-beyond-the-grave-bai-ri-ti-deng ] [https://nomad-translations.com/carrying-a-lantern-in-daylight-calid/ ]
The 40-episode English-subtitled adaptation stars Dilraba as the spirit queen and it’s her show all the way, she has the difficult and meatier role, a character she was probably born to play. She and Chen Feiyu are perfect for their roles. An immortal, 400-year old spirit queen Simu and a mortal 20-year old general Duan Xu have an on-off relationship which is tested across mortal and spirit realms over the span of a year. The spirit queen wants to experience life as a human by feeling the sensations of the five senses, since she has none - i.e. she can see, but cannot feel what she sees. Both realms are colorless, bland and joyless to her. The general can give her the ability. Both have their own ambitions and struggles in spirit and mortal worlds and have their work cut out for them. The story will end with the life-changing decision by the spirit queen abdicating her throne and immortal life and becoming a mortal to live with Duan Xu [in the drama, she doesn't make the decision, the decision is made for her by some fairy of Lord of Fate because DX has been killed] and though there are effective scenes, the grand romance is a hard sell. I think it is due to the way in which the drama is filmed, the way in which connection or lack-of between both leads is filmed. The spirit queen has had 22 lovers in 400 years, forgetting them all, because she couldn’t feel them with any of her senses (you know touch, taste, etc.). This is precisely why Duan Xu is memorable to her, because she can experience the totality of it all with him. And he tells her in Chapter 65 that he likes her because: ‘[Duan Xui] spoke softly, as if accusing and joking at the same time, “You lure me in.” He Simu raised her eyebrows. “With your gentleness beneath your cold exterior, the loneliness above all ghosts, and the love for the world, you lure me in. And I willingly took the bait.”’ Of course, her being a larger than life indestructible figure is part of the appeal.
Duan Xu knows her more than any entity and gambles and schemes to make her accept him, but in the drama she’s mothering his spoilt kid demeanor and the story loses its appeal around Ep. 23 or 24 - too much time is spent in the spirit world and the general’s heart is broken in more ways than one. You’ll find yourself skipping scenes and episodes.
The soundtrack’s best number is ‘Above All Spirits / Souls’ sung by Huang Xiaoyun. It's epic and enhances every scene its in.
This could have been a very sensual and romantic saga of 2 people fighting their own battles in spirit and mortal world and getting together at the end, but it is one of the coldest 'love stories' as in, there's no heat, no sizzle, no chemistry here. I've spoken more about it in my video review posted on youtube.
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Waste of time
SYNOPSIS: Two tribal mindset groups have been at war & each other's enemies forever. One group is comprised of the 6 sects (who like to think of themselves as the cultured & righteous people). The other is the demon-art practicing set of human beings (call them demon sect). FL is from the 6 sects. ML is from the demon sect. Both are trained in martial arts. Twenty years ago some mysterious thing occurred between 6 sects and the demon king that resulted in FL's aunt killing ML's uncle to save her sects. The shadow of what happened at that time carries to this day in the lives of FL & ML & everyone else, including the survivors of that time period on both sides. FL & ML set out in search of the truth, have adventures, some cool fights, next to zero romance. ML is a long suffering, unhinged, crazy, manipulative & secretive lover boy with ambitions of ending the enmity & uniting all people, while FL is a practical, non-committal girl who believes there can never be peace between the 2 factions. They find out what happened all those years ago & who is creating unrest in present day.PROBLEMS: This is a lame duck drama that was ambitious to conceptualize & produce because of all the story arcs from previous generations & ramifications of actions & how it spills into the personal dynamics of ML & FL.
1) The Hypocrisy of FL, Her Parents & 6 Sects: In the beginning of the series, FL is shown to be capable, strong, intelligent & practical. By episode 10 it is clear that she is shallow, thin-skinned, blind, opportunistic and flip flopper who cannot make up her mind or change but wants perfection in everything & wants ML to change to suit her, her greedy parents & her corrupt sect ideology. By episode 33, you are left scratching your head as to her motives & actions: Of course, the greedy parents of FL lapped up the gold & treasures (& thoughtful gifts) ML brought to be on their good side - forgetting he is from the demon side & forgetting that both had tried to kill ML in an ambush, and then agreed to his crippling in front of everyone even though he had done nothing wrong, AND that their daughter got the beating of a lifetime over saving this guy.
These same greedy parents were ecstatic when Song (SML, who will be lord of 6 sects after 'Master' current lord retires)'s father (SML's father) had provided them with keys to shops & lands as proposal for their daughter. These greedy parents were very okay with their daughter having a rich fiancé, son of a sect leader, who brought gifts whenever he showed up. Every single time, this good-for-nothing poverty stricken jobless parents and their daughter family is glad to attract the attention of upscale families, while pretending to be morally and ethically upstanding.
Usually such grifting is done by villains. For FL herself to use the love ML has for her & for her parents to use a 'daughter' for advancement, money & social status is pathetic. So much for the morals of Luoyong Valley!!!
2) Inconsistent Female Lead: You'll run out of times & ways in which FL keeps stringing at least 2-3 men around for majority of this drama, though other commenters disagree with this assessment. She continuously refuses ML's proposal (for one reason or another) despite claiming she loves him (it's never clear what she wants other than that she wants peace in the world even if it kills him or she kills him, she wants ML to come over to her sect, become a matrilocal husband, and give her and her family all of his riches! He agrees because he is shown to be totally obsessed with her).
In this drama, a woman who has no identity of her own & no accomplishment of her own - or at least not on an equal level with the man, is shown to use the affection & devotion of the said man to her advantage to usurp his wealth, identity & privilege in the name of 'female empowerment or liberation'.
In this series, ML has his own agenda - he wants to bring peace & get revenge at the same time - and wants an end to enmity between sects because he wants to 'marry FL honorably in open'. He keeps giving her suggestions as to how they can have a life together. She keeps saying no, she doesn't get it, she doesn't support him, she doesn't say she loves him.
He did use her unforgivably in one particular episode (in Ep. 29-30, when he willingly got caught in 6 sects web, threatening his own life, her life & the life of standbys all to achieve a result, which was to bring his own enemies out in the open & to force FL to make a choice to rescue him because he wanted her to show that she secretly loves him & she does rescue him because she loves him & will not watch an innocent man pay for the crimes of past generations). After the rescue FL tells him she loves him, dumps him, and continues to dilly dally with his feelings & time by never being clear about her wants. This continues till the last half hour of Ep.37 (the last episode!!!!)
In Ep. 33, FL says no to ML's proposal yet again, despite accepting the gifts, and her parents giving him a room in the house (which they did because of his gifts). She could've said no I don't trust you or you just came to get info on my aunt + Master + Jade to get MIB out of hiding (which was his goal apart from proposal anyways - even I had guessed he had 2 things planned for this trip) or let's not announce it yet or thank you but I need time, but no, she said expressionlessly, 'no, because you are from a prominent family' - height of hypocrisy & double standards because all that she and her family ever did was try to get a rich husband. And she does this to a person for the nth time whom she claims to love......(but no harm in accepting his gifts while giving him the cold shoulder).
FL also keeps repeating that 'all that I want is a peaceful life' but she continually inserted herself in dangerous situations, usually with ML or SML or both in tow. Lady, if you like living a peaceful life, just go back to Luoyong Valley and let grownups and guys fight it out between themselves.
Maybe it's a fantasy of some viewers (teenagers?) to see 'Cinderella' moments, to see rich powerful handsome men brought to their knees by talentless, loud, confused village belles who have no goals in life other than to snare the most eligible bachelor & emasculate him while 'peacefully' enjoying the privilege & freedom that his wealth brings. 'The Double', 'Blossoms in Adversity' & many other C-historical-dramas balanced conspiracy with slow burn aesthetically pleasing romance. This drama is a pill and a headache.
3) Obsession is bad: Yes, ML's obsession for FL is bad because he is clearly used and exploited by FL and her greedy parents. FL is obsessed with her aunt and not intelligent enough to understand that she is not her aunt, ML is not his dead misguided uncle and their life is their own to choose and make - not to be lead by her 'Master' lord of 6 sects, her greedy parents, or ideas of her aunt. Time and again, she tries to kill ML because she does not trust him or thinks he's doing something wrong - even though ML is always clear about his objectives that he wants to end the enmity between 6 sects and demon sect & to take revenge for the deaths of his father, friends etc. - just because he didn't tell her everything didn't mean his goal was bad or evil. But FL never gives him grace, never partners with him to fight forces together, instead keeps him insecure by roaming around with other guy (SML - who clearly wanted to marry her, while she did not, but she kept him around just the same). It was ML ultimately who was open with her and showed more character growth than she did. She remained the same obstinate, holier than thou hypocrite from start to finish, praising her corrupt sect & corrupt and murderous 'Master' (lord of 6 sects) and 'Luoyong Valley ways' (which were nothing more than praising her for finding 2 rich suitors). The 'Master' is obsessed with aunt, so is every guy from older generation (aunt also had 3 bonafide suitors), FL keeps talking about and thinking about her aunt, so does everyone else. And by the end of it all, you'll be sick of the aunt, her name, her role, everything. Aunt's lover is played by the ML from 'Blossom' drama 2025, LRY before his big break in Blossom, and you almost feel sorry for him to be reduced to empty flashbacks.
4) Unforgivable Betrayal of Memory & Personhood: I found it unforgivable that FL placed the ashes of the main villain, the ultimate source of murder and mayhem in the series, next to her aunt, even though he neither was the aunt's lover nor friend nor had he been good for the 6 sects or the demon sect. This felt like the ultimate betrayal by a so-called 'righteous' FL of aunt's memory who if anything would've preferred to be buried alone or maybe have the Zhangyang (man she wanted to marry and then killed) beside her but certainly not the 'man in black' who was responsible for so many massacres. It was further proof that FL just couldn't see straight for entirety of drama, running off into the sunset with a hen-pecked and emasculated ML.
4) Editing is Okay but Choice of Material is Not: Many commenters have disliked the fast-paced flipping from one scene to the next (calling it choppy editing). I did not think the editing was choppy, but I did think that the screenwriter and director should've changed the story arc of the FL to show some depth and growth. They also should have changed the original novel's story to give a better reason to the main villain for all the rampage and killing he did over the course of decades. His reasoning & actions didn't make sense & sounded like a juvenile crybaby tantrum. And since FL and villain arcs dragged out over the course of 37 episodes, it felt like a hot air lead balloon, not good dramatic storytelling.
PROS: The only thing good in the drama is ML's voice. The cast is full of young actors and they all did well with the material they were given. It is a high-end, big budget 'production'.
I cannot believe I watched 33 episodes (and then read the ending) of this mediocre drama.
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Very good drama
Love Story in the 70s is pretty good. The main leads are engaging and endearing, the second leads have an intriguing dynamic, but the third leads who had an incredibly irritating arc with wife’s parents and brother are given more screen time than the second leads. Parents of both the female lead and male lead are memorable but it was entertaining to watch the female lead’s father. Everyone has acted very well. The real scene stealer is the textile mills director Xu Hong Qi and that cup of hers that breaks into pieces on the floor. It also is Chen Feiyu’s best performance to date. Like most Asian series, everyone in this drama has a job and they have struggles related to work, ambitions, families and senior colleagues as well as love. In fact, it’s the work life of each individual that moves the story forward. Locations are realistic, as are the events. It is set in a particularly difficult time period in Chinese cultural and educational history and may feel like a propaganda piece in some instances. The only person I felt bad for is Ling Yi, the way her journey was concluded was unfair. You’ll hate Feng Lin, universally disliked individual, and good riddance.Was this review helpful to you?
K-drama is back with this one!
Perfect Crown is not based on any novel but since its been a while since a K-drama has worked in the romance department, especially an old-fashioned rom-com, the kind that K-drama was so good at at one point, I thought I’d talk a bit about it. I've also posted a video review about it on my youtube channel.FL / HEEJOO:
Centering around a constitutional monarchy system that exists within a democracy with an elected prime minister, cabinet etc. this has the right mix of everything. IU is sensational as SONG HEE-JOO, she heads a K-beauty brand and is one of the richest people in the country. She’s the ultimate no-nonsense hustler who knows how to generate buzz and sell products. The company is successful because of her but her father never liked her and favors his incompetent son because he was born from his legal wife, while Heejoo is the illegitimate daughter from a mistress who was forced on her father at 10. She has had to work really hard to get everything in life, was a brilliant student and is used to people ridiculing her or talking badly about her because of her background. She feels that she needs to marry up or someone from a noble background to fatten her chances of becoming heir to her father’s business empire, she lacks social status, and that’s how she proposes the prince, current regent of the royal family.
ML/PRINCE YI-AHN:
Prince YiAhn is regent because the current majesty, his nephew, is 8 years old. Prince’s job in this drama is to look dreamy eye-candy and if you go past the fillers on his face, he does a commendable job of looking dreamy eye-candy. And he is carrying himself with enough aloofness to look like unattainable royalty. He has a far more complicated backstory than heejoo. He suffers from his own daddy issues - I don’t know why his father was so disapproving of hi other than the fact that he was not crown prince and was no.2 and his job was to support his father and brother and that’s it. He has status but has no money of his own - being taxpayer funded and all, and has to follow rigid royal rules with no personal freedom - but he does act out every now and then. There’s a huge responsibility on his shoulders. All of the members of his immediate family have died under strange circumstances. His mom, then-queen, died in a car accident. His father, a middle-aged man died of a heart attack. His brother crown prince didn’t want to marry the woman who became his wife but felt compelled or duty-bound to do so. His wife is a real piece of work, born in a family that has produced 4 generations of queens, she believes in blue-bloodedness, pedigree, and lineage, what her manner and dialogues reveal is racism, not elitism. She believes in hereditary rights of ascent, hard work makes no difference to her, a person’s accident of birth is more important. The drama has set up an eventual showdown between her and heejoo by this comical dialogue by prince’s aide who wonders out loud ‘who will win between the two’?
BASIC MYSTERY:
The brother died in a mysterious fire (he also wanted to abdicate and was stopped by his wife/Queen). His wife is now Queen Mother and her son 8 year old cutie is His Majesty but male lead prince is the one tasked to represent monarchy and government for e.g. charity or diplomatic functions, meeting dignitaries etc. and the poor king is happier around him than around his own mother.
Queen Mother is always afraid that Prince YiAhn is going to overshadow or overtake her son. I think her father is behind all the killings in the royal family, but maybe it could be someone who wants to abolish the monarchy? At the end of Ep. 4 there was even an attempt on heejoo’s life (someone had tinkered with her car’s brakes) - there’s even a princess diana reference who of course died in a car crash- so maybe someone does not want Prince Yi-Ahn’s side of the family to have any power, other than Queen Mother?
But Queen mother’s father is extremely suspicious. And Queen mother does herself no favors by being a mean overbearing byotch. As a young widow, she is planning an arranged marriage for Prince Yi-Ahn, and I was like, why isn’t someone thinking of getting her married again? There’s also a bit of a hint of maybe she’s over-obsessed with who he ends up with, as if she at one point liked him or rejected him.
As for the royal rules, they are not that bad considering that there is a threat to monarchy, especially after that car scene where brakes failed, in which the poor 8-year old king was not supposed to be in an unsanctioned car.
Btw, this is the prime minister, who is best friends with both heejoo and Prince yi-ahn. So light-hearted fare.
ROMANCE:
As for the romance, they don’t need to 'speed it up' - a reference you’ll understand if you are watching the show [4 episodes have been aired so far]. The drama has found the nice balance of modern monarchy which still has rigid internal rules and mystic.
WHAT KIND OF ENDING WOULD BE PERFECT FOR BOTH FL & ML:
And apart from the mystery of the fire and other deaths, the drama has to come up with the right kind of ending - heejoo will never leave her company / girl boss position to be just a royal - the only reason she wanted to marry a royal is to get control of the company and prince yi-ahn needs to figure out whether he wants to remain a royal or what kind of modern royal he can be within the dyanstic system. The first 4 episodes reminded me of good old-fashioned kdramas which used to have the right mix of the main leads relationship, over-the-top family drama, a bit of comedy, a bit of tragedy, a bit of fashion and a bit of high-stakes life and death mystery and decision. Visually everything is pretty and fluff but it does have repeat value. Basically who doesN’t want to see heejoo win?
Since this has 12 episodes, it will be over before you know it. Should’ve been 16 episode drama like the good old days or broken down to 2 seasons considering all the production budget? Because it's a good fun drama. Do check out my review on youtube too.
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This review may contain spoilers
Why not ditch this book-world & just date in the present day?
The comedy ‘How dare you?’ is adapted from the web novel "This Is Ridiculous" (成何体统) by Qi Ying Jun (七英俊). And its premise is that 2 people from the modern world are transported into a book as villains - but they end up changing their destiny, fate and character arc - by doing good, saving people, and the kingdom, they also fall in love, marry, etc. etc. - all the while still being in the other world of a book. So whatever action you are likely to see is within the construct of a preordained written word and the leads change their fate essentially - the message for viewers being you are in charge of what happens to you and can change your life.In the book, the heroine comes to believe that this is another dimension or alternate universe and not just a book, because they have treaded far beyond the confines of the book’s original trajectory and story line.
In the web novel, the heroine is from the year 2026 and is an unexceptional worker in an office, the hero is a boy from year 2016, is still in high school. So the trope of older woman and teenage boy is used as well.
Plus, as villains in the original book their lives were short and insignificant, but since they changed everything, he lives as a good king, dies first and goes back to being the high school boy from year 2016, the heroine lives on as the reigning queen, in the end leaving everything to her son and roaming the earth meeting friends old and new, sees what she was able to build and accomplish, and then dies a natural death at which point she is back in the modern world - year 2026 - in the same subway train in which she fell asleep - and that’s how the 2 star crossed lovebirds meet in the present timeline.
In the web novel, in present day he’s the lawyer for the production house that is making a drama on the book and he has been waiting for her for 10 years. She recognizes the rest of the cast as people she met in the novel’s timeline.
If you are watching the drama, you’ll notice that there are some changes from the web novel early on: the male lead says he’s a CEO in 2026, so when they go back, they’ll be the same age and he most probably will be the owner of the company she works for or CEO of the production company making the drama.
But watching the first 2 episodes, all I could think was why are these two people sticking around in this fake make-believe world when they can get out through some door to the present day at any time, or die, and start courting each other, because I wanted to see their interactions as actual people in present day. What’s the use of all that energy and maneuvers and ambitions in a fake place? This is the bit where such dramas lose me. Because why would anyone want to stay trapped in a make-believe world with a real person? So it’s a no-watch for me.
I understand why transmigration of soul or past life or time travel or dream world would be attractive as a genre - an ordinary person gets to live a larger than life treacherous adventure that tests their mettle, their strength, their bravery, their perseverance and their humanity in extraordinary circumstances, where everything is glamorous and chaotic and exotic than their dull real life, and the person gets to be appreciated for his or her brains, looks and actions and noticed by the hottest guy or girl. Issues of self worth or self-esteem won't come up because in the fictional world they have the answer for everything.
This is escapist fantasy world has a lot of fans. The cast is good, the costumes are good, but the story has by now FOUR real people duking it out in palatial politics. My question is why? Go back to your day jobs and hook up with the girl you met in the dream book world!
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