zleighz

So far, she made a strong first impression on him and he was semi-flirty/semi-serious with her. It was a well done scene between the two of them and it makes me excited for more.

I've never been able to finish it >< and I've tried multiple times.

Hm, I'm disinclined to comment on any post that is simply "anti", but I am kind of curious if you have deeper thoughts about these statements you've made. Can you explain what motivations are "trivial and juvenile" especially in comparison to the source material or previous versions? Do you have a thought beyond "SUCKS" to describe the script/director decisions with plot development?

If no, that's fine. Though is does make your post kind of pointless to engage with.

If yes, I'm interested in real thoughts people have about what isn't working for them in the story.

Oh interesting... are there things happing that confuse you?

Part of me wishes we could get a storyline with Hana that isn't the typical one. More like an exploration of the tension between Gorya and Hana, when Gorya has smoothly moved past the bullying and is becoming friends with F4, whereas Hana has yet to move past the trauma of it and has no reason to see F4 as anything but the bullies of the school. Her jealousy could be less about wanting what Gorya has, and more about losing a friend to a group that tormented her.

Regarding Kaning:

Her scene with Kevin was fantastic. Usually a speech like that comes across as uncomfortably self-righteous, but her speech was moving and well acted, especially the part about "but what about Gorya? No one is standing by her side". Kavin's response of "since you can't trust us, trust your friend" was perfect as well. It didn't undermine her speech, and it was a pretty insightful comment about Gorya.

Regarding Mira:

Damn, I mean, *I* have a major girl-crush on her right now. Her telling Gorya "you might never be able to trust people like us, but never say you aren't right for anything" was amazing, as was her continuing the nice-shoes-nice-places concept.

Oh yes! I like that.

Interesting!

Someone in the thread below talked about the rain scene as feeling more like closing a chapter and getting ready for the next one. I love this and agree with the feeling.

Gorya has only just started to have Thyme on her mind. She barely thought about him in ep1&2 (and only in relation to the red card or Ren), and in ep3, she has to think about him because of their kiss, because he slides up beside her on the bus, because he's fighting with Ren, because he is there at the airport, and on the TV asking her out....

She's finally *thinking* about him, though it isn't shown too openly like through flashbacks or inner monologues, so it is subtle. But, to me, it adds to the feeling of "opening a new chapter" when she shows up in the rain. It's less of a heart-fluttering, ohmo ohmo, moment for me and more of a moment of forgiveness for past wrongs and willingness to be open to him in the future.

Hm, interesting thoughts!

1. This is the only version where the bullying affected me. If you rewatch BOF, for instance, the opening scene cuts between a boy getting beaten bloody, and Jan-di happily riding her bike through the school while pleasant music plays. When he's up on the railing about to jump, Jan-di is acting comical. It is a very tonally confusing scene. Are we supposed to be scared? Are we supposed to laugh? It isn't clear.
In F4, however, the bullying/cyberbullying is overwhelming. Everyone participates (even the teachers stand by and allow it to happen). It is disorienting to have all the texting noises, all the sideways glances, all the slight shoves and dropped items.... it's like death by a thousand cuts. So overwhelming. Plus, having F4's entrance to the show be them walking into the gladiator-like stadium makes them seem much more imposing and powerful than their usual entrance where they are surrounded by screaming fan girls

PPL (product placement) is such an art...

I didn't even realize the deodorant was one of the sponsors till episode 3 but the scene with Gorya and her family picking out her clothes in episode 2, where her brother is reading tips on how to look fancy with makeup and smell good to build confidence and then *holds up strawberry scented deodorant*, just cracked me up. Well done writers.

Meteor Garden 2018 was one of my first Cdramas and, like you with BOF, I really liked it at the time and find it nearly unwatchable now.

It was before I knew about product placement, too, so I spent many episodes pondering on the writer's choice to have them go jewelry shopping again, or ... the most egregious product placement in any show ever ... have Daomingsi purchase a "meteor garden" in a phone app game to gift to Shancai. Smh.

I find your comments to be confusing responses. No one has attacked you, yet almost all your responses have come across as very defensive (and even condescending). You have chosen to give an opinion, yet you don't seem comfortable with people engaging with your opinion.

Something to reflect on:

Have you ever heard the term "thought-terminating cliche"?

Basically, someone says something that is so simple and obvious that it doesn't actually do anything to advance a conversation. Instead, its sole function is to STOP conversation.

This is what your comments are doing. You are not making a point, you are simply stating a cliche ("people like different things"; "it's just fiction").

My hope in posting this is that you can become aware of this tendency and either reply to comments with more substance, or else feel more comfortable letting people comment without shutting them down for not agreeing.

My first thought as well lol.

Ren has the superior smile, imo

I showed a friend the intro since I was telling him about the show. He has directed a few short films and is very knowledgeable about film and one of his comments was about how well Hana portrayed the insecurity and uncertainty of being a new student in the first classroom scene. I hadn't really thought about it, but I completely agree.

When my partner watched the first 30 minutes (to compare F4 agait when we watched lol), he described Jan Di as "broad, all her reactions and movements...theyre just so broad."

I didn't even Subject him to more than a minute of Jun Pyo though, so he didn't get to form an opinion beyond wishing someone would just punch him.

Awesome! Thanks. It was so sweet up through the episodes I watched, so I was afraid to keep going if it meant I'd finish with a sour taste in my mouth.

Same! Also, this makes me want to ask you...

I just watched 2gether up till about episode 7, when they get together (super cute couple omg), but do you recommend I complete the series?

It seems like a lot of people hate on the last third of the drama, and I'm not too interested in the side characters stories either. Up until they get together is a pretty adorable drama in and of itself, so I don't feel compelled to keep going.

Haha. For like the first time ever, I'm actually glad I'm watching a drama as it airs. The wait is pretty painful, no lie, but I can't stop thinking about the episodes.

Binge-watching makes consuming a drama more like inhaling it rather than savoring it. If I waited till all episodes had aired, there is no way I wouldn't finish the show in two days. The only thing that is making me take a breath between episodes is literally that they aren't out yet.

This show is so damn good, and the writing is so tight, and the characters are so well done.... I'm glad that I've had time between the episodes to digest my thoughts about it and read other comments about it as well.

But I'm also obsessing hard core so I wish they'd at least give us 2 episodes a week!

I just checked the time stamps and you were posting this at the same time that I was posting about Lee Minho to your comment down below, hah. We both must have had parallel thoughts reading all these anti-Bright comments.

Mind boggling!