Reviews

Respect and love to King Cheoljong!

I just want to applaud the King! 👏 Kim Jwa-Geun thought he had set such a marvelous trap, yet he was outsmarted by Cheoljong’s own well-planned trap! And he even managed to put everyone in their places, even the Grand Queen Dowager! It was so enjoyable to watch. The scene was perfect! 🤌 I was truly afraid for him while it was happening.I must add, I loved how So-Yong actually fought to get to the King. She was so worried and terrified that he might die. I wonder if he actually heard that confession about a future betrayal that the Queen whispered into his deaf ears? 🤔The reveal of the pressure the Kims put on her before her suicide attempt—and seeing them try it again—is just unacceptable! They all must be punished. As for the cousin, I still want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I don't know if he’s redeemable anymore. Hwajin is also getting worse, turning more into a villain with every episode! 😤😠But I can't help but wonder what will happen next after that beautiful night the Queen doesn't remember... 🤭😏

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Shedding tears

We finally see Mei’s father in a scene where he is not slapping her.😝 She should take a close look because that is Bei in 20 yrs and no prize. I chuckled when she told him to take care of the mom himself if she showed up. Mei is good at cutting to the chase so she leaves him a stack of cash and leaves. He should get his suit out of cleaners but it’s for sure he will piss the money away and she will still have to pay for it. Zhao is feeling the hormones from the shots and crying buckets of tears. It is sad that her recollection is stopping tears at 5 and 6. She recognized that early her parents lack of concern and equal love of mahjong. She even predicts that after this sea of tears she will probably not cry much in the future. Mei finds her and cries with her. It is not that she thinks it is a good idea, it is just they both are making similar choices that won’t end well. They both are driving their fates to bad endings with no good reason why except that is where they choose to go. GuYan is a petty little sh.t and demands they drop Lin’s book to third place. They announce he is SanSan and the buzz moves to GuYan. He is now the center of attention with two books. His talent deserves recognition but his tactics are much more meanspirited than HeHan’s slaps at the award ceremony. He wants to completely demoralize Lin the way he felt they did him that evening. Lin knows Zhao’s tactics so she saw the writing on the wall early on and was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He would be far less bitter had she done her real job on award night and looked after him like a good boss than disciplining him like a good mentor. She is feeling the pain of lacking in that skillset as the numbers drop. HeHan has done all he can to shift the book’s pacing and be less mediocre but GuYan’s revenge is hitting home hard with no letup. Fan is all smiles at their livestream while they announce collaboration with Zhao’s company and reveal GuYan as SanSan. Mei’s comments weren’t from the right view. The true backstabber was her good buddy Zhao. She is not really aware of all the side deals and snide interactions between her and Lin. GuYan doesn’t feel remorse and it all started with his resentment of being completely ignored and left alone on what should have been his first major triumph as first place author. Lin and HeHan were too busy talking about breaking his trophy and putting on their couple act. Zhao has no reason to be nothing but smiles at this point, but when the dust settles, her hellfire grin will show and GuYan will taste ash while he’s churning out two projects simultaneously. Lin gets it and accepts her bad luck but it’s a very bitter pill. HeHan and Mimi team up for a counter livestream promoting the new book. Lin even goes public with meeting the author in a dating app. Her poignant novel excerpt is beautifully bittersweet. 💔 She is getting to tell her mother goodbye and use her grief to engage readers. Only she and HeHan know why she sheds tears. Even Zhao might stop her gloating and give a minute of silence if she knew the real reason behind Lin’s tears. Fan is already preening like the great overseer and Zhao is reminding GuYan of his place in the pecking order. His tasting of ash has started. He knows she is not interested in the new author but resents that in spite of it all Lin and HeHan support each other. It is undeniable and right before his eyes. It seems Lin’s mom and company will pass at the same time. She is deciding if she should pull the plug or suffer a bit longer trying where her company is concerned. HeHan tries to encourage her to keep going but she accepts that no miracle will save her company or have her mom wake up. They embrace knowing that even though unsuccessful, they both did their absolute best to salvage a bad situation. The author was surprisingly grateful and aware of the actual degree of his talent. He is a decent person and I hope he continues writing. He was such a jerk in EoM that it was surprising to see him be nice and accommodating. Lin gives him Zhao’s contact information because she has already made a safety net for the mediocre author. She can now place another trophy in her room and relish it was at Lin’s expense. I am sure she now feels she has reached a milestone in her career toppling Lin’s company and pushing Lin to such lengths to try to save it. What I would like see happen is a dark horse enter the platform arena. I want to see Dai and Lin collaborate and knock Fan off his throne. Once he falls, the rest will follow. I also hope there will be a moment of time where Lin can tell her mother goodbye and her mother is aware. This episode truly exploited tears at all levels and it was magnificently done even with all the black characters. It just made them shine all the more. These deeply flawed and multifaceted characters draw you in to their stories even when they are rather an unlikable group. The actors are giving stellar performances and the music has brought out all the feels of rebellion and heartache and hope. For once I am glad I have to wait for next episode. My heart is very full of all their emotions and needs a rest. Well done cast and crew to make me so moved with characters I would rather slap than hug😘👏🏻

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The ties that bind

Mei and Bei seem to really be making a go of it. The heart wants what the heart wants. But while this feels inevitable, it’s not ringing true for me in spite of her insistence of going through with it. It just doesn’t feel like even a chance of a true happy ending. He’s wanting her to be his plus one at a wedding to introduce her to his friends and has agreed to meet her mother. She came at him in righteous indignation and while I loathe her tyrant routine over Mei, I could only applaud her contempt of Bei. He deserved every bit of it. She has every right to be disappointed in Mei’s choice, but to threaten suicide if they marry is over the top. This new form of blackmail is far more than repugnant, it’s the only guilt level she can subject Mei to that could keep her suppressed. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around her determination to follow through with Bei. Prior marriage aside this man manipulated her as deliberately and as obscenely as her mother does. Why is this her choice for freedom? She is as masochistic as Zhao in her choice for a spouse. Neither ring true for even a remote chance of true happiness. I did like that he threatened to sue the mom if she continued to abuse Mei, but her threat of suicide is hard to work around. Part of me wishes she would have told her to go ahead so she can’t continue to ruin her life, but the end result is the guilt would take over where the abuse left off. Her mom knows this and thinks she has won. Gu Yan is nursing his wounds and unhappy in HeHan’s trappings tho the game vibe is actually kinda cool. Zhao introduces him to Ling and they have chilling smiles while they remind him his home and his friend’s expansion are dependent on his performance. He has one day to think through the contract they want him to sign. He is reminded of Lin’s warning that once his performance dropped Zhao would go elsewhere. Holding on and supporting through the drops was not her style. Lin was always the best choice as mentor because she understood the realities of inspiration and output. Where she failed in equal measure was being the boss. She is just very bad at it. GuYan sees two hellhounds before him waiting to take him to hell. He has already signed away his soul and now he’s tasting the ash of the prizes he was offered in exchange. This is where Ling deserves the wife his betrothal price bought. They really are bookends — one hellfire and one brimstone. Lin has also sold her soul for a very cheap price to try to save her company. She has a very obliging author with a very crappy book and it unfortunately is the best of the lot after GuYan. He Han strongly advises against this and sees it as tossing her effort and money away on a lost cause. She asks him if he would consider starting something new with her and he just can’t. This time it is not about working with her, he just really is currently emptied out in the creative dept and has no inspiration at all for trying a new series. Lin collapses when getting her new author coffee and HeHan finds her crashed at her desk. What he does is tutor the author as much as he can and leaves a manuscript ready for her to edit and update. He truly loves her and this was just a sweet under current of support for her even while realizing they are both putting lipstick on a pig and seeing if any will consider it anyways. He did an excellent job making your head hurt with his while he fought off a migraine trying to get through this mediocre attempt at a book. It is sad when the willingness is there but the talent is not. I enjoyed the sweet exchange between him and his favorite convenient store manager. I will hate it when he sells his store but glad he reunites with his son. That ledger of alcohol free days is a beautiful gesture. They really didn’t need a mournful Cai in the background lamenting his tenderness towards Lin. It might be an epiphany for her, but nothing has changed. She just finally sees the reality that has always been with her rose colored idol worshipping glasses off. She should be embarrassed she was so far from reality rather than think she has anything real to mourn. There were no what ifs or might have beens. She was never part of the equation at all. The only good part is she finally realizes it. Maybe we will finally see the grown up Cai that isn’t an annoying HeHan worshipper at the expense of real life. If she was set up this way for viewer sympathy, she’s not getting it from me. She will finally stop annoying me with her childish fan act and be the bright driven editor she was always supposed to be. Mei recognizes the signs because she always does. Lin sees it as an idol crush and doesn’t take it seriously. This again is why she’s a better mentor than boss. She never really sees what’s right in front of her. GuYan has learned dark ways from Zhao well…he bypasses gray to go to black saying he will sign the contract if new author makes no traction. Zhao goes with giving hope so the higher they think they are the harder they fall. I want to see all of them fall with Fan going first. I still find him more vile than Zhao’s tactics because he makes sure to profit from all of them. HeHan is selling classes online ironically with Mimi’s help. She looks and acts like a grownup now and I’m hoping Cai will soon follow suit. Zhao is secretly doing IVF and will get Ling’s sympathy long enough to get pregnant. He just won’t realize until too late what her agenda really was. This episode was lots of yin yang pull and they keep swirling. I just wish they were more equal strength. GuYan will come to regret his scorched earth approach but he refuses to suffer alone and wants to take Lin with him. Misery after all likes company.

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