John Smith

I agree with you too. I do feel sort of inoculated against it by having seen it play out so many times. I do think this drama at least in my opinion will be judged against Descendants of the Sun and You Are My Hero, and will be a mixed bag. The overall idea of these shows are really good. Action, romance, duty, and sacrifice. I guess there is nothing wrong with really good unless you were expecting great.

I agree. I think having a rich supporting cast with their own lives separate from the leads adds to a drama. It just seems like a seven course meal when there is only time for five.

I think the person writing the novel could fill up as many pages as they wanted to. This drama introduced a lot of characters deemed to be important and all kinds of stories it seemed to want to tell, but only have 40 episodes to do it. The main leads have not officially become a couple, the female leads still do not know Zhao Ran is a criminal, the issue with Xia Chu's father is not done, neither is Zhao Ran's mother safe, the male leads have not had their fight either, the main boss will have to be dealt with, and a few other smaller stories need to be finished as well. Only 12 episodes left. I hope this is not going to be one of those dramas where everything comes together in a rush in the end.

I want more scenes with Sun Woo's sister. Kim Do Yeon has made the most of her scenes so far.

I think I need to be screened for diabetes after episode 9.

I am sure there are many reasons why he said what he said, it just came across as things not to say or do when you are confessing your love. I thought it was a bit ironic that his confession was an actual confession. I really felt awkward for Xia Chu. It is obvious that he is still obsessed with her, or more likely their lives eight years ago.
Oh, Mi Gu. I keep wondering if she is going to obsess her way into his heart. It is obvious that Zhao Ran has serious problems and issues to deal with. Mi Gu seemed okay until she met him. Why have her behave like she does if it is not to have qualities to be with ZR, or to make him be a better person?

1) Zhao Ran is not a doctor nor pharmacist, but Xia Chu is actually a doctor. Did ZR or Mi Gu know her current medication, possible allergies, or even wary of drug interactions? He had been gone for eight years. And Mi Gu did not even think it appropriate to tell XC about it? What is wrong with "he told me not to tell, but..."?

2) She confronted him about it. Love is blind, but she is not stupid. When she is not with or thinking about Zhao Ran, Mi Gu looks bright and attractive, and seems to be assertive and good at her job. I do think she had to believe him because she believed the medicine story, but at least she brought it up in conversation that time.

3) I thought the implications would be pretty clear. If sex were just sex, the world would be a much better place, not to mention more pleasurable. It is often a tool and even more so a drug. It might be a tool for Zhao Ran, and a drug for Mi Gu.

Modern or traditional has nothing to do with my view. Love at first sight, believing anything he says, and forgiving him for anything? Fairy tales and soap opera stuff there. A modern woman would have moved on when it was painfully clear he is still into his ex (her friend). Like I said earlier, the scenes without ZR or not thinking about him, she is really likeable. When she is with him, it is like he is the master and she is whatever he needs her to be. What kind of modern character is that?
Mi Gu's flaw is being totally blinded by love for what now seems to be the wrong person to the viewer. I do think that Xia Chu is in an unenviable position which is probably why the "friends do not date a friend's ex" rule exists. There is almost no path to have a reasonable conversation about Zhao Ran with Mi Gu right now. That is probably why she said what she said. I think even if XC had video and audio of the conversation, once Mi Gu aslked ZR about it, he would explain it away. Is the drama (ZR) going to try to drive a wedge in between the two best friends? I do not know.the episodes have been going pretty fast plus I would like to think that if Mi Gu and XC were so close, that it would be hard to have a misunderstanding that would linger. But that is why I watch. To see what is going to happen.

I do not think the boss is as smart as you are. If he really knew what was going on, he would have called them both back and sent more capable people. If he really, really knew what was going on, the instance the wild dog got off the leash, he would have been put down, lest it comes back to bite the owner. Drama villains...

The informer is a criminal himself and the victim is just a human capable of making mistakes. Did she see his face? They could have felt their case was not strong enough to hold him longer. Perhaps there were more discussions held out of our view. Maybe Chinese law differs from other countries. I find it just as easy to explain it away and I do to wonder why it happened. Now if you want to talk about ridiculous, the bomb scene was incredibly ridiculous and unbelievable. I cannot explain that one away.

Time seems so slow for five days, and then the two episodes seem over in a blink.

Let's be honest, Shao Xue was terrible in her first few episodes. I thought I was going to wear out the mute button, but she got better. Mi Gu was willing to drug her best friend and chose not to make a big deal of the printed weapon, and all of this was before sex. If I were to write the rest of her story, it would be a melodrama, tragedy, or short story. We are getting close to 3/4 of the way through and she is still the same (perhaps a bit worse). If the writers want me to believe that she can change, they better start soon. I am not a fan of 11th hour redemption/change of heart/ALL happy endings. That is why I said I will just accept Mi Gu as Mi Gu. This is a drama that revolves around worlds surrounded by death and loss. I hope the good get their happy endings, and the rest get their due.

I thought there were some issues in the first part of the drama. For me, some of that was having higher expectations (after seeing Descendants of the Sun and You Are My Hero, I wanted the best of both for this one), and being a bit let down, some of it was getting used to the characters of Mi Gu and Shao Xue. I have accepted Mi Gu is just Mi Gu, and they have really toned down Shao Xue and given her a backstory that is way too sad for anyone to really complain about her now.

It is a bit disappointing that the "clean" break suddenly occurs, only to have Zhao Ran plotting to separate Xia Chu and Liang Mu Ze conveniently afterwards.
I think Mi Gu has to know she is being used. I can fault her character in many ways, but the actress seems to do a good job with the various emotions on her face. I also think she is using him as well, even if it is using the Zhao Ran that is in front of her in place of the Zhao Ran that she wants him to be.

On a separate, but related note, in what world did Zhao Ran think using the words stalk and listening device in his confession would make it successful? He doubled down and pretty much thought he should be appreciated for it. It also does not help that the character has a look on his face that seems to fluctuate between constipation and desperation.

I was operating under the impression that the original comment might have attracted haters hating, so I tried to leave a comment that was positive. I really like this drama and would love to see more episodes daily.

Not enough episodes released daily?

Finally Mi Gu's unsettling, obsessive, and preposterously foolish behavior in love has paid off. She got him. She does not want to be bogged down by the obvious truth of the situation or whatever may come next. Classic Mi Gu. I wonder if Zhao Ran will 3D print a Xia Chu mask and ask Mi Gu to wear it. In Dramaland, masks always seem to be too real.

I suppose his lawyer had a lot to do with him getting released as well. Some dramas would show some impeccably dressed lawyer walking in and threatening to sue everyone into oblivion, and then present some law or crucial evidence to get the guilty party released. I think that he does need to be released to further the plot, so I guess sprinkling magic drama dust works too.

I agree that You Are My Hero seemed more character driven, and the same could be said for My Dear Guardian. Not because it lacks a plot, but because it seems to meander around it in exchange for romantic scenes.

True. It is really good. While My Dear Guardian might not have met viewer expectations for some, MRIAG has exceeded mine on just about every level. Not that one might be better than the other, but I would rather underpromise and overdeliver, than to overpromise and underdeliver.

In my arrogant opinion, So I Married an Anti-Fan should be watched in two parts. Episodes 1-13 and 14-16. Viewing it like that makes a bit more sense of the nonsense the last few episodes turned out to be. 14-16 was like eating frosting with a spoon. A big spoon. Way too sweet compared to 1-13. Sweet? No, you need even more sugar. Sad? Here is some sugar for you. Toxic and depressed? Sugar spill on aisle JJ and IH. More happy endings than Disney Channel.