I really enjoyed this! It was well done - not overly dragging plots, kept certain secrets until big reveals, the villains were very hateful, the main couple was gorgeous.
My thoughts: - No one is being forced to listen to ORBIT. He offers his advice and some people take it because it’s a smarter strategy than what they could think of (almost like a devil whispering into your ear about what you should vs should not do…). I didn’t enjoy his ideology of trying to save everyone but it has made for more interesting game play in terms of forming alliances. - Dong Jae made himself a target when he deceived everyone in the first game and when he tried to backtrack (and form a new alliance), it blew up in his face. - Guillaume stuck to his initial alliance and was sacrificed to the game when it didn’t work out. - Yeon Woo literally had a game tailored to her and still got sent home. She was the weakest link in my opinion (she would have been sent to jail three out of four times had she stayed) so I think it was smart of Seok Jin to send her home. Same with Hye Sung - as cute as she was, she played the victim card so hard, crying her eyes out whenever she got frustrated and not really contributing anything to the games.
So far, I’m rooting the most for Kyeong Rim. She’s very smart (apart from the first game where she was broadcasting her role wayyy too hard) and works really well with everyone. I don’t like how two-faced Joon Bin is and Yu Min is playing the victim to get ahead too much for my liking. Seok Jin is playing the game brilliantly but I think See Won might bring him down if she keeps emphasizing on taking down ORBIT so hard. Pretty neutral about the others.
I NEED SEASON 2 AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I miss everyone even stupid Tushan Huo and Xin Yue and they are my least favourite characters. I’m going through some major Cang Xuan withdrawals! PLEASE TENCENT PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY
I’m enjoying it! The game rules are a bit confusing but once they start playing I get it a lot more. Very different personalities and I’m looking forward to seeing how they’ll eventually clash.
A surprise hit for me! Love a second chance trope and watching the baddies get their due! Already binged all available episodes. Hope it continues to be good!
Thinking of creating a chapter by chapter summary of the novel with the main events of each chapter. Does it already exist though? Don’t want to start if someone has already done the work.
I am reading the novel but I’m slow and TOO curious to wait to find out for myself - why does CX kill TSJ? The parts in the trailer where CX confesses his feelings for XY and then when XY says she has to kill him because he killed TSJ - so powerful! The reason I don’t want to wait 12 months to see them again ):
I loved this so much. I thought TTEOTM was going to be my favourite drama for this year but I think this might just surpass it. I’ll hold off full judgement until season two finishing airing.
Jing and Xiaoyao giving me cavities over here with their sweet love. Meanwhile, the other love interests: fighting to the death (XL), plotting (CX), frantically googling “how to make crush like me back” (FL)
Why is Jing not sending any more wine to Xiaoyao after saying he sends it to show he’s thinking of her? Does he not want to think of her anymore? Seems odd.
Zhang Wan Yi’s minor expressions are marvelous. He portrays the duality of Cang Xuan so well - “unfailing good brother” VS “secretly becoming obsessed with XY”. I already know I’m on the wrong ship yet I can’t help but proudly sink with it 🫠
Loved CX's conversation on having 'learned to swim' after that woman pushed him into the river. Xin Yue walked…
I get the vibe that CX is doing it because (a) he needs their family’s support when he vies for the throne, (b) he knows she likes him and is encouraging her affections to make reason (a) stronger and (c) he’s trying to see whether XY would have any reaction to it - it’s almost like he glances toward XY and TSJ, feels jealous and then wants to see if XY will react to him falling in the water / going with whatever her name is. I say that because in the trailer he says something about how he wishes XY wouldn’t congratulate him every time he gets married - making me think that part of his advances toward other women has something to do with inspiring the same feelings of jealousy and romantic love he has when XY is approached by one of her other admirers.
- No one is being forced to listen to ORBIT. He offers his advice and some people take it because it’s a smarter strategy than what they could think of (almost like a devil whispering into your ear about what you should vs should not do…).
I didn’t enjoy his ideology of trying to save everyone but it has made for more interesting game play in terms of forming alliances.
- Dong Jae made himself a target when he deceived everyone in the first game and when he tried to backtrack (and form a new alliance), it blew up in his face.
- Guillaume stuck to his initial alliance and was sacrificed to the game when it didn’t work out.
- Yeon Woo literally had a game tailored to her and still got sent home. She was the weakest link in my opinion (she would have been sent to jail three out of four times had she stayed) so I think it was smart of Seok Jin to send her home. Same with Hye Sung - as cute as she was, she played the victim card so hard, crying her eyes out whenever she got frustrated and not really contributing anything to the games.
So far, I’m rooting the most for Kyeong Rim. She’s very smart (apart from the first game where she was broadcasting her role wayyy too hard) and works really well with everyone. I don’t like how two-faced Joon Bin is and Yu Min is playing the victim to get ahead too much for my liking. Seok Jin is playing the game brilliantly but I think See Won might bring him down if she keeps emphasizing on taking down ORBIT so hard. Pretty neutral about the others.
Update: I did it! :)
The parts in the trailer where CX confesses his feelings for XY and then when XY says she has to kill him because he killed TSJ - so powerful! The reason I don’t want to wait 12 months to see them again ):
Meanwhile, the other love interests: fighting to the death (XL), plotting (CX), frantically googling “how to make crush like me back” (FL)
I already know I’m on the wrong ship yet I can’t help but proudly sink with it 🫠
(a) he needs their family’s support when he vies for the throne,
(b) he knows she likes him and is encouraging her affections to make reason (a) stronger and
(c) he’s trying to see whether XY would have any reaction to it - it’s almost like he glances toward XY and TSJ, feels jealous and then wants to see if XY will react to him falling in the water / going with whatever her name is. I say that because in the trailer he says something about how he wishes XY wouldn’t congratulate him every time he gets married - making me think that part of his advances toward other women has something to do with inspiring the same feelings of jealousy and romantic love he has when XY is approached by one of her other admirers.