John Smith

Straight from the horse's mouth.

I thought her character comes across as more tortured and broken versus simply evil. She is also a victim of circumstance as well. Of course, the way she has chosen to play the hand she was dealt has contributed greatly to the type of character she is and by extension, those around her.

Maybe it was a case of "if I cannot have her, no one can."

The first actress I thought about was Suzy, but I can see where someone could say IU as well.

He did not travel back in time to get rich, but to get revenge. He realized he needed money to fund his revenge, and the real estate money was really stumbled on because he was trying to help someone else. He only has the knowledge that he has, not of the entire ten years into the future. He may know bitcoin, but not how much it is worth or how fast it gained in value.
It seems like you imagine yourself back in time and the things you would do and miss from the future. He seemed to be a bit of a lone wolf, especially given the fact his parents died early. He was not a corporate lawyer, but a prosecutor. He was probably not as rich as those lawyers. He was basically sent back after dying a horrible death, not with time to prepare. He was probably also overwhelmed with trying to save his parents and changing the things he immediately recognized he could.
Almost everything shown in his past and present makes his behavior more believable.

I will allow it. If you catch me on the right day, I might even agree. Then there are the people that think The Oath of Love was the greatest drama ever. Like ever ever. That is a no-go.

You are welcome. It does sound like something you might say angrily.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts in a way that respected others who liked the show.

Manhole? She wakes up from the coma towards the end of episode 23.

There are plen-tea of other quali-tea dramas to check out. At leaves brew gave it a chai.

I think you could infer it to be a happy ending. It is not a sad ending. It does not have a classic happy ending, but there is going to be a follow up movie. It is an excellent drama.

I never really felt bad for Li Chong Wen. I thought he was a selfish fool pretty much the whole time. Granted, Qian Wei tried to keep him on the straight and narrow in dream world, but he still was heading towards the Li Chong Wen of the real world. He allowed himself to be a victim of circumstance. Just about any time he had a problem, he made the easy choice. Contrast that with Qian Wei (and Lu Xun) who had the strength to persevere. That is probably why Li Chong Wen and Qian Wei would never have worked out, and why Qian Wei and Lu Xun eventually did.

I do think jumping straight to dream world was a good idea. In other dramas, Li Chong Wen could have easily been that evil-type SML who would constantly pester the main leads and aggravate the viewers for most of the drama. He was pretty much muted in that aspect because she brought her memories with her. That enabled the focus to be on the main leads.
Yes, there was a sorta-kinda loose plot, and there were other characters, and even rival love interests for the main leads, but this was all about Qian Wei and Lu Xun. This drama played to its strength which was the two leads. I feel that is the main reason why I think it is such a good drama.

I understand that Li Chong Wen was a supporting character so there was not a real need to flesh out his character, but in turn, it made it difficult to see him as anything other than a third wheel in dream world and reality.

The dream world enabled her to recognize her feelings for Lu Xun too. I do not think she or Lu Xun talked her into having feelings for him. They seemed to always be there waiting for her to discover them.

That is precisely why I thought Lu Xun was just scared, but eventually Qian Wei and Lu Xun would have ended up together. Assuming that they did not get disbarred or die from their legal battles with AES.

I know the backstory, but was commenting on the idea that Lu Xun was not Qian Wei's first choice. Lu Xun never presented himself as an option and probably played the role of academic rival to Qian Wei rather than a love rival to Li Chong Wen. I also doubt that if things changed, she would always fall for Li Chong Wen. Perhaps it is the fact they dove straight into the dream world that I never felt invested in Qian Wei's and Li Chong Wen's relationship. And certainly not to the extent that I felt bad for Li Chong Wen.

I agree that the dream world was necessary but I do not understand why he was so brave to tell her all the things he did for her and liked her when as soon as she woke up he went back to the secret crush Lu Xun. Qian Wei looked like she was going to confess for an episode or two when she woke up, but then it went to the classic cat and mouse scenario with neither wanting to be the first to admit their feelings to the other.

All of Lu Xun's talk about love, pity, and wholeheartedness was nonsense. He was just scared. The only reason he confessed first was that he was more scared of Li Chong Wen having another chance versus being scared of being rejected. Qian Wei tried everything to get him to confess, but it was Li Chong Wen that made him.

One of the few things I thought was not executed well, is the backstory between Qian Wei and Li Chong Wen. Even before her dream trip, they did not seem that close and for all intents and purposes they broke up when she found out what he was did behind her back. The only real indication of how close they may have been was Li Chong Wen's obsession with their relationship. And I do not trust that. I think that they shared some moments, decided to be together, and because they were not a good fit (or meant to be if you are more poetically inclined), they drifted apart. Even Li Chong Wen seemed to attribute his relationship with Qian Wei being due to the fact that he was always there first. Lu Xun never tried to be a choice in the past, but hid his feelings and worked behind the scenes to help her. I would have liked to think that even if the dream trip did not happen, they would eventually get together.

There are thousands of dramas and movies on Netflix and not all of them are popular. It has a better chance to be popular because it is on Netflix with a global audience. I agree with the original poster that the main reason is that it is entertaining. That is certainly the biggest umbrella that covers a lot of the reasons why a show may be popular.

Legally Romance was excellent, but by all means, not perfect. It was also adapted from a novel, and had to go through the censors just like The Oath of Love. I am not sure I can pinpoint exactly what it is, but Legally Romance has that "it" factor that The Oath of Love was lacking. Did they think they could just roll Xiao Zhan and Yang Zi out there and it was a guaranteed masterpiece? Who knows? I am not saying that is it the worst, but where Legally Romance is a well-rounded effort, The Oath of Love really placed all its hope on the main pairing and is not enough to go from good to great. Not to mention all of the other dramas that were airing at the same time. I just keep finding other dramas to start and finish versus finishing The Oath of Love.

I do wonder if my thoughts about The Oath of Love would have been different if it had aired another time without so much stiff competition. It is hard to watch more than one drama at the same time, and not make active comparisons.

I have to admit that expecting a 9 and getting an 8 is different from expecting a 7 and getting an 8. I expected more, and it did not deliver. I do not have enough fan love for the mains to make up for that disappointment. A lot of viewers did though.