AH

I was stuck at episode 13 for weeks and then episode 15 for weeks again. Finally finished it today. It's not that the writers made terrible choices or anything, but I was bored and no longer interested in the story / characters. I'm glad I finished it to get it off my watchlist, but that's about it.

This drama had the potential to be incredible (an interesting premise / initial plot set up and two excellent lead actors who are both gorgeous and known for good skinship scenes). Unfortunately it ended up being a drama with some enjoyable scenes scattered between many, many boring and draggy scenes, and while the romance involved some nice moments and some good skinship, it could have been so much more.

A slow pace and slow-burn approach to romance can be great when well executed, but that wasn't what this drama provided. The writing was not tight or particularly satisfying (Where did the name Irene come from? Did the ML really just fall for the FL because she was a pretty kid and felt sad like he did in high school? MHW started out as a character with lots of talent and an industrious energy, but for some reason the writer chose to mostly ignore some of her most compelling traits after the first episode, etc.), the narrative used a lot of unnecessary repetition and spent far too much time on uninteresting plot points / arcs.

Not a horrible drama, just underwhelming. Definitely not a "must watch". If you choose to watch it, don't be afraid to skip through most of it and just focus on the characters that interest you.

lilan and I discussed this theory above. They two characters may have different customs, but I don't think that's the reason he did what he did. aana n's explanation makes the most sense to me, and completely fits when I go back and watch the scene.

I think your original interpretation was correct. I wasn't getting it before aana n's explanation because I didn't realize 1) that Qian Qian was trying to drink from the wrong cup and 2) that they were each trying to drink in a different style. Once she explained that part it all made sense ^^

He definitely looked a little confused by her comment about going home, but now that I better understand the scene I don't think it was the reason he ended up pouring out the poison and giving up on the plan.

Yes, I think the post that confused me thought something similar. As if her demeanour and comment about going home faster was cute enough to make him change his mind, or at least strange enough to make him suspicious.

But 36 minutes and 20 seconds in (right before they sit down to drink), Qian Qian reminds herself to pay attention to the position of the cups / which cup was poisoned and to make sure that she drank from the poisoned cup.

I agree that Qian Qian didn't know which cup was poisoned, but it still seems like Qian Qian was trying to drink from the cup she assumed was poisoned rather than just drinking from the cup she would normally drink from due to her usual customs.

I mean she's not really "from" Huayuan. The fictional character Third Princess is from Huayuan. Unless the writer's actual city is also called Huayuan and I missed it? But either way her habits definitely aren't the same as the habits of the Third Princess Character that she replaced.

I see! So the first time they go to drink, Qian Qian thinks that she needs to drink the glass that Han Shuo gave her to drink the poison and die / go home so she goes for a couple-style, wrap-around approach to drink from that cup, but Han Shuo has actually poisoned the cup he's holding and tries to reach forward and put that cup to her lips. When she goes for the wrong cup, he starts coughing for the first time so he can switch the cups positions.

But the second time, after Han Shuo switches the cups, Qian Qian tries to follow Han Shuo's original approach and puts her cup (now the poisoned cup) to his lips, so he fakes a coughing fit again and pours out the poisoned cup.

That makes so much sense and is so obvious when I go back and watch it now, thank you :)!

I was confused because I saw someone comment that it was cute that he decided not to poison her after he heard her mumbling, and that didn't make sense to me.

Oh!!

Can anyone explain to me what made him change his mind about the plan with the wine in episode 1? I'm rewatching and still can't really figure out what prompted that. Wondering if the subs missed something?

Is the "L" on Dr. Bo's apron a death note reference?

To be honest I'm not even sure. It seemed like they had multiple possible endings?

Pros: this drama had some really wonderful scenes (peak cuteness, peak angst - scenes that make your heart soar and ache in the best way), a powerful female lead, some creative and unique plot points, and two gorgeous lead actors with pretty good chemistry.

Cons: So. much. filler. Even the process of skipping through most of it was exhausting. Also tonnes of death. To the point where you just become desensitized to it and it adds to the draggy-ness of the story. Finally, a very disjointed last few episodes, which makes for an unsatisfying ending.

I will probably re-watch some of my favourite scenes at some point, but there are too many cons to justify giving this drama a high rating.

For me the things the drama got right were Seo Woo's character and story, her relationship with Eun Joo, and her relationship with Ha Won. The scenes related to those characters and relationships were a pleasure to watch. Very sweet and comforting. Soon Ho and In Wook's characters, on the other hand, were worse than boring. They were aggravating. I skipped as many of their scenes as I could. I didn't worry about the logical inconsistencies with the AI, snow, who knew what when, etc. so I was able to really enjoy the parts I focused on. Some people said this show was too slow to binge, but I easily watched it in two days. If you're considering watching this, my recommendation is to do the same: figure out the parts you like and focus on those parts. It's not a masterpiece where every part is great, but it is a very sweet and enjoyable drama that's worth watching if you focus on certain parts.

With a G rating is the romance boring / frustrating?

Updated with lots of detail.

Does anyone know what time the last episode will become available? I assumed it would be 12 am PST / 3 am EST but it's not up yet.

Very helpful answer. Thank you!

Do one of the leads have a terminal illness or do they just both work in hospice care?

This drama is so difficult to review and rate because on the one hand there were many, many things that I found frustrating, annoying or disappointing, and yet I still found myself enjoying the story or at least always wanting to click "next episode" to see what was going to happen next.

Part of that was an un-met expectation that things would start to fall into place and the special meaning behind certain characters and plot lines would finally be revealed and make sense. And part of it was just a good-looking cast and a story that was not emotionally draining to watch. But part of it was that the central characters / actors were engaging and the plot was rarely boring. Even when they were huge cliches, or did things that didn't make sense or acted a bit annoying, I still found myself invested in the leads' stories. There were a few moments with great chemistry, and despite the disappointingly incoherent plot the emotional commitment between the leads and few other elements did provide some emotional satisfaction.

The sad thing is that if the writing had been stronger, this really could've been a "great" drama instead of landing somewhere between "good" and "okay".

From what I remember, he isn't. He's the younger brother of her mother's second husband. Not the brother of her biological father.