Ngl, I am glad they changed it, not a big fan of seeing rape. You might like "Love in the Desert"Also I don't…
There is a tonal shift from the initial three episodes. I do feel it is a bit jarring but I am still very intrigued to see how the story/plot will play out and of course also here to enjoy the romance. The drama has established that MJH’s vulgar, callous, despicable side is him play acting and putting on a front. He has been using this persona for the past 10 years as a cover to allow him to plan in the background how he is going to bring down the real culprit. What we discover about MJH is that he is in fact compassionate, however due to him having been ostracized for so long he has somewhat lost his ability to express true affection, warmth and probably love. So him warming up to Mei Lin may appear like becoming a “simp” but this is part of his development. It is also part of her’s. Well this is how I am seeing it. I have seen part of Love in the Desert and as much as I like Alen Fang not sure I can continue due to the number of rape attempts, not comfortable with it.
I have not read the novel, so novel readers…do you think they have toned down the darkness and toxicity too much in the drama so far? Thought the amount of darkness in the first 3 episodes was just right. I have noted previous comments that a lot of the book changes in the drama have been for the better….
For all the naysayers who said that Bi Wenjun is too wooden and can't act I give you episode 9 and the tears streaming…
As much as the screen time we got between Sumo and YQ seemed a few minutes longer than it needed to be it does show YQ's loneliness being a hostage in a foreign land and the companionship he would've relied on from Sumo. I think Bi Wenjun portrayed that quite well. I was initially impatient with this scene but came to understand what it represented. Also YQ feels ineffectual, partly why he is so determined to protect ML. The scene also shows that the people from Xiyan have their own identity and customs so to a certain extent we understand why they might harbour some resentment towards Yan.
Things MJH does effortlessly: intimidate, interrogate, sarcasm, giving out orders, laser stares. Things MJH is not so good at: smiling, sleepovers, first dates, hiding jealousy, sweet talk.
In Episodes 8-9 what we see is that MJH may have (mostly) healed physically but his heart needs a lot of healing. We see ML is slowly doing this whether they both realise it or not.
On the flip side ML is so singular in her mindset for revenge she holds very little value for her own life so once they go from kill me to love me she will hopefully regain her desire to live again because she finds her reason for living.
It’s been a unique viewing experience. Really enjoy the pacing so far - intense first three episodes followed by the calmer (though no less intriguing) expository episodes which gives us deeper insight into the characters and setting up the romance and schemes. Commend the production team for mixing it up and giving us something that feels a little different from the usual C-drama. There is the annoying 2ML but he is serving somewhat of a purpose, but it is overall a great watch so far. Looking forward to more.
Things MJH is not so good at: smiling, sleepovers, first dates, hiding jealousy, sweet talk.
In Episodes 8-9 what we see is that MJH may have (mostly) healed physically but his heart needs a lot of healing. We see ML is slowly doing this whether they both realise it or not.
On the flip side ML is so singular in her mindset for revenge she holds very little value for her own life so once they go from kill me to love me she will hopefully regain her desire to live again because she finds her reason for living.