John Smith

Fingers crossed it maintains that freshness.

There are many things to like about this drama, but one thing I am enjoying is the un-palace-like (yes, I know it is not a word) palace drama so far. Some people love palace intrigue, and there are plenty of dramas out there for them. Give me sprinkles of it, not a heavy hand.

Getting near episode 20 and still has the bad editing. I still like it, but "what might have been" will probably be what I remember most.

I did not realize I was not even halfway through. I think I will stick with it as long as they keep the comedy steady, and the angst light. Given all the issues that everyone has, it could get really melodragmatic (did I just invent a new word?) fast. So far the drama has managed to keep it more upbeat than the facts would suggest, which I like. Sweet is good. Bittersweet is okay. Bitter is not.

I am kind of waiting to see if it goes dark melo before committing to watching multiple episodes. I watched SITR as it was airing so the melo came in measured doses.

I have only seen up to episode ten, but I suppose some things are being held back to create drama in later episodes. The drama strikes me as way too bright and fluffy to take a dark turn. Angst and drag maybe, but I do not expect some dark, soul crushing experiences for the main couple. There should be no question as to whether they should be able to be together. Some other commenters seem to want to create problems where none exist. Plus, like you mentioned, a bit of drama magic dust and any problem can be solved (or created for that matter).

Of course I do not fully understand, but I am glad you tried to explain what you meant. Dramas touch on a lot of issues, and not all of them are comfortable and heartwarming. I just did not want your emotionally charged statement to deter others (or even you) from giving it a chance.

1-You should always allow for change when you are wrong. In your mind, you have a scenario about the situation that probably does not match the drama reality. I do cringe when I watch historical dramas when that uncomfortable royal family stuff goes on, but I do not think that is the vibe they intended here.

2-You get the gist, but not the nuance.

3-This is a reason why the drama works.

4-About the missing parents (mother of ML), at least one of them died. They have not said much about the other, but I suppose at some point they will.

5-So far I have seen no clear message about what is or is not taboo. The drama still has about 2/3 for me and about 1/3 left for up to date viewers. I suppose once they need to build angst or climax, how they deal with the situation may be telling. They are just acknowledging their feelings, and according to others, they keep it hidden for quite awhile. The drama has enough time left for me that it could go 180 and get really gloomy.

I am not sure if you have seen Something in the Rain, but even though the main leads were not related, it felt much more uncomfortable because of the dark, melo atmosphere and the loud voices of disapproval all around. This drama is way too bright and fluffy so far.

I know. I think a lesser drama would probably be below 7 by now. It still may get there depending on how the editing goes and how long they are going to drag the male lead's trauma out for.

You make it out to be something terrible when it is not. You have not seen the drama. So you do not know the concept or the situation they are in.
To me, there is a big difference between step-siblings whose parents got married when they were little and raised them together as brother as sister versus two older people who get married who have kids in their 30s versus a couple who get married with kids and only one lives with them. The drama really has not gone into too much detail about the missing parents which might also make a difference in how the story is told.

So far it is one of those fluffy style (usually 24 episodes) Chinese romantic comedies. It does not really seem like they are trying to make it less taboo. I am only about a third of the way through, so there might be plenty of time for it to get dark, melo, and get angsty-serious about it. I hope it stays a bright version of Something in the Rain.

I know that almost every drama has to pass through government censorship, but I cannot believe that is the reason for the poor editing. While it does not necessarily ruin the story, it does mess with the flow.

It is not as heinous as you are making it out to be. The drama makes it clear that they may have spent time together when they were young, but have not seen each other in years.

It feels weird to say bad editing in every episode, but yeah, every episode.

I do not think the number of watchers is a good indication of how good a drama is. I just queue it up, press play, and see how good it is myself.

I wonder what could be worthy of deleting whole scenes. Multiple times. I cannot recall a drama (especially one that has popular stars) that were cut or edited in such an egregious manner. In spite of all that, I still like the drama.

More users (commenters) are curious about about this drama than other ones airing, so that is why there are more MDL viewers. How will you know it is good unless you watch it? A reason to watch it might be the curiosity to find out what all the discussion is about. The original poster is curious about why there are more watchers and curious as to why they should watch it.

I am able to follow the story, but when something is obviously missing, I am asking myself, was it important or will I need to know it later on.

I do not know the law there either, but something tells me that if this drama passed through government censors, it is either allowed or will work itself out. Is it possible that only non-Chinese are questioning the premise of the drama? In my opinion, they are not related by blood and the drama has made it seem like they were not really close or at least not close for a long time. So no big deal.

Curiosity could be the answer to both of your questions.

They are only step siblings, so there should be nothing stopping them from getting married. Although, the easy workaround would be to stop the drama short of getting married, and leave on a happy ending.

The editing for this drama is atrocious given the star power of the leads. I have never seen one of the antagonists (second male lead), nor the love interest of an important character (Shen Qian Sha) introduced so late. I do not think there is much of a risk concerning second lead syndrome since the purpose of the SML is to destroy the ML.