Reviews

Romanticizing SA

The second half was genuinely hard to watch. Flint’s behavior did not read as confident, sexy, or intense to me. It read as controlling. “I don’t like people messing with what’s mine” is not a hot dom line. You do not own another person.No one is saying women cannot be abusive or that stories cannot portray that. The problem is the framing. This is a romance, and romance has built-in emotional language that pushes the audience to root for the couple and read tension as chemistry. So when you put coercive behavior inside the central love story without clear condemnation, consequences, or lasting fallout, it stops being realism or awareness and starts being romanticized by the narrative itself.Sun saying no all episode also did not feel like organic character writing. It felt like the script was creating resistance specifically so Flint could push past it. At that point, it stopped feeling like two women falling in love.At this point, I think the series may be doomed for me, but I am still watching to see how they try to frame or mitigate this. Right now, though, this does not feel like romance. It feels like the show does not know the difference between intensity and violation.

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Successful launch of LinWei renovation project and who is Chen Mo really?

Department three are becoming more united. This small group is the heart of Lysen. They dare to do a good deed rather than focus on max profit. YuCi knows small changes matter. She can actually smile for real that good things are happening. LiangLiang gives her mom a bank card telling her it can buy 3x the property and she wants them to move out of the city. Her money is refused but her mom is devastated. YuCi promises to find a solution to help. Her research indicates that the Bosi CEO is not looking for properties but green building suppliers. She points out to Jiang that this is the way to get Bosi. In a flashback LiangLiang is being taken away by her mother. Who is the rich dad that looks too much like Mr Rao? We don’t know who he is but LiangLiang’s mom was determined to get her out of his home. Maybe he was the diplomat in her story and he was going to take her out of country? She never forgave her mom for taking her. She still resents her mom and for whatever reason sees YuCi’s birthright as hers simply because she thinks she desires it more and deserves it. She determined since the bank lady refused to consider her application that she would get even for the humiliation. The blow LiangLiang expected YuCi to get was returned to her when Mr Jiang said the properties were no longer needed. He spurs things on by mentioning she lost to Rao YuCi again. Is he just pitting them against each other to gain the most profit or is there some other motivation? Dept three celebrates a successful launch of their renovation project. Wait til LiangLiang realizes her lover and ‘best friend’ cut a deal that cost her the LinWei Alley project. I am also curious how Jiang feels about dept three’s success being due to his nemesis PengYu? I am sure YuCi ‘s name came up when LiangLiang answered Mr Rao’s call. Liang Liang wasn’t aware that her bf and local lover PengYu were close friends in school. But even with that knowledge she doesn’t hesitate to hop to PengYu’s bed. He is an odd duck because he wanted the three of them to go out to dinner.😝 He reminded her MuRan gets his cashflow from dear ol’ Gma. So she shows up at the auspicious hour on the nose to present Phoenix scissors for ribbon cutting of new gallery. She puts an earwig in gma’s ear that Mr Jiang might have influences that aren’t in their best interest. Once again she has lost the payout she expected from a big business deal and her ‘uncle’ has taken the biggest hit. He sees YuCi at Lysen and soundly slaps her. Mr Yu was ready to take him out. This is where dept three learns he is her father. She reminds dear old dad that there is a cost for greed and she wasn’t sorry for his loss. She then pulls her hood up and runs out of the building. There is a flashback of her trying to get help from her father from in hospital and he refuses. He will not see her as anything but troublesome and entrusted her care to LiangLiang. I have no idea how this was allowed by the hospital but it does explain why LiangLiang feels she has the upper hand of things. YuCi finds a secluded spot and gives way to tears. Chen Mo is there to comfort her. I am curious about who he really is in the scheme of things. HR Director accuses him of actively helping her and he assures her he’s professional. But when bad investor daddy is trying to make a call in a lavatory, he finds himself locked in. Someone outside the door tells him to note how it feels to be locked in a small space in seclusion. He is threatened to not ever hurt YuCi again without expecting severe consequences. This dark angel is none other than Chen Mo.

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Relocating

This episode showed the double life Bai LiangLiang has lived since childhood. She resents that her parents are poor and that the upper crust people Rao YuCi’s family belongs to would snub her in a heartbeat if they knew her true origins instead of her fabricated diplomat story. She resents the most that all this opportunity falls to YuCi who seems to have no aspirations at all compared to her ambitions. She truly believes they are wasted efforts that she should be entitled to because she has the most desire for them. YuCi must still be fond of the MingXuan that was. Her failed life for him let him focus on paying off his debts and on family. Rather than being resentful, he sees himself indebted to YuCi. He has returned to his kinder self and seems much happier than when he was under LiangLiang’s thumb at Lysen. YuCi had him deliver medical supplies to a pet project of Mr Yu that Lysen refused to help with. She made Yu show up in person and MingXuan the liaison of the transaction. She also had a business investigation done by her friend, Zhou LuFeng, and Mr Jiang got to see the results. Jiang is reminded that his colleague did not choose to disappear from the company. They cancelled him when he would not play along with their plans and he advised them of the dangers of that type of investing. LiangLiang and her buddy now leading dept one have tried to run over the renewal plans of dept three by buying the buildings and forcing tenants to be out in three days. It is further complicated by Lysen threatening any movers helping them to be blackballed from future business dealings. Mr Yu and dept three come to the rescue by providing the moving trucks needed to help them relocate. These were the grateful truckers that had delivered the medical supplies. They had no issues assisting the LinWei people moving. Chen Mo notes to YuCi that she seems to have made new friends. We are seeing how LiangLiang soothed the ego of Mr Rao when YuCi tried to discourage him from investing poorly. He felt judged by her because he didn’t want to acknowledge that his daughter was wiser with business transactions than he would ever be. His ego will let him bankrupt his family and feel justified doing it.😝 He says that his family is his motivation for his investments and that he is tired of his daughter jinxing his plans. If he had half the brain his daughter does he would see that she was saving the family from financial ruin. The daughter he wished he had doesn’t give a rat’s arse if he fails or not as long as she is seen as loyal to Mr Jiang. The one thing all Lysen leaders, with the exception of Yu, have is willing obtuseness to how their acquisition of property effects those relocated. Ethics are not the driving force of this company. That is made crystal clear with the premature tenant eviction and refusing to allow them moving vehicles to take care of their businesses and families. There is a very distinct and polar difference between the mindsets of YuCi and LiangLiang. Even with justice as her motivation, YuCi shows character and principle in protecting the innocent and less fortunate. LiangLiang simply sees them as stepping stones or obstacles to step on or toss out of the way.

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The Marquis Who Feared Divorce More Than War

Episode 24 feels like the drama pressed a big reunion button and said, alright everyone, come here and hug it out. Princess Royal Qi Shu marching into the Xie military camp is already fun, but the real comedy gold is Xie Zheng’s face the moment he sees her. That man clocked her intentions in half a second. Of course she is here to see Yin Gong Sun. Please, we all know it. Despite the emperor and empress matchmaking them into an arranged marriage, Qi Shu and Xie Zheng continue to give off peak brother sister energy and honestly I love that for them. It was also adorable seeing how Xie Wu treats Qi Shu with respect and how he subtly makes sure the other soldiers behave properly around her. I don’t know what it is but I have a soft spot for girls being surrounded by a bunch of big, loyal soldiers who instantly switch to gentleman mode. Beyond that, this episode is basically reunion central. Chang Yu finally reunites with Xie Zheng, Chang Yu reunites with Chang Ning, Chang Ning reconnects with Xie Zheng, and Qi Shu finally sees Yin Gong Sun again. We even get a budding bestie duo in Chang Yu and Qi Shu which I did not expect but immediately enjoy. The reunion between the sisters, Chang Yu and Chang Ning, was especially touching. They cried in each other’s arms and you could really feel Chang Yu’s relief after finally finding her little sister. Chang Ning also reveals that Bao Er and Yu Qian Qian are being held captive by the so called “Little Villain” Qi Min, which answers the audience questions from earlier episodes about why she had not mentioned it before. I also like that Chang Yu is not overly panicked about Qian Qian and Bao Er because she knows very well that Qian Qian is a tough and clever woman who can handle herself. Meanwhile, Qi Shu and Yin Gong Sun’s reunion is hilariously short yet oddly romantic. The awkwardness is almost sweet, with Qi Shu brushing off her visit under the noble excuse of serving the country while Yin Gong Sun casually keeps things friendly. It is giving shy romance hiding behind patriotic duty and somehow it works. But let’s be honest, the real highlight is Chang Yu and Xie Zheng finally seeing each other again. Fate really said copy paste because these two keep running into each other again and again in this episode. Their reunion is warm, soft, and somehow also a little spicy. After spending so long with that cold and aloof expression, seeing Xie Zheng soften is like watching winter turn into spring. Zhang Ling He absolutely nailed the soft yearning look when he gazes at Chang Yu. You can practically hear the unspoken “I missed you so much.” Yet even in that happy moment, Xie Zheng keeps a layer of caution because he knows Chang Yu being here is dangerous. That composure really reminds us that he is not just a husband but also Marquis Wu’an, a man responsible for an entire army. On the other side, Tian Xi Wei perfectly shows Chang Yu’s relief at finally finding her husband in the middle of a war zone. Her eyes were doing all the acting. Then comes the scene that made me laugh and kick my feet at the same time. Chang Yu casually says she should have signed the divorce papers earlier, and our poor Marquis literally vomits blood. Sir, the timing. His immediate angry response asking if she really wants to divorce him that badly, followed by Chang Yu explaining she only said that because she thought he was forced into the army after marrying into her family, is strangely cute. The conclusion is very clear though. This Marquis is absolutely down bad for his pig butcher wife. He even quickly apologizes for force kissing her before, which honestly felt like him saying, fine I will behave, just please do not divorce me. At this point the divorce card is basically Chang Yu’s ultimate weapon against Xie Zheng. Another moment that really shows how deeply he cares is when Chang Yu tells him she does not care if he ends up limping from his injuries and asks him to leave the army and go home with her, promising she will take care of him by butchering pigs. The way he looks at her in that moment is pure gold. I swear I want someone to look at me like that at least once in my life. The whole identity hiding situation is also pretty entertaining. Yin Gong Sun, Xie Zheng’s guards, and even Qi Shu all work together like a secret club trying to keep Marquis Wu’an’s identity hidden from Chang Yu. That said, I do have mixed feelings about Chang Yu’s naivety. It is realistic since she grew up as a pig butcher with little education, even calling Qi Shu “Qi Benggong” by accident, but sometimes her confidence despite not knowing things makes me feel secondhand embarrassment for her. I appreciate that she learns quickly and adapts on the go, but when she is surrounded by all these smart and well educated people, I cannot help but feel a little bad for her. At least only Xie Zheng’s personal guards actually know his face, so hopefully the embarrassment factor will stay manageable. Still, just when I start feeling tired of Xie Zheng keeping up this identity lie, the episode finally drops a small hint at the end about why he had to hide who he is from Chang Yu in the first place. It is not the full explanation yet, but it is enough to keep the curiosity alive. Now I just need the next episode immediately because one episode per day this week is basically torture for those of us watching this drama while it airs. Truly a test of patience worthy of a cultivation novel.

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It takes a village

UJu fell down the stairs while Hyeong Jin was trying to get his meds. This was even more upsetting because once again the social worker was there to catch him. She chooses to not see an accident but neglect. This resulted in a 72 hr investigation to be sure their home was safe. As much as we resented Park’s abundant screen time, he did a good deed and got legal assistance for them so that a more balanced view of their childcare emerged. He is also heading to the states so there will be a nice ocean between them now.😝 There was obviously love in the house just looking at the pictures and it was fun to hear their cheers when the social worker left.😂Their story ended with a very posh bday party for UJu and a montage of all the cute baby moments. This drama was raked over the coals for not having UJu being the focus for too many episodes. The dating and triangle should not have ever been the main event of the story. Had they kept it a heartfelt blended family story with UJu and his care being center focus resulting in the guardians becoming a couple, all those triangle complaints would have been praises instead. The actors did very well presenting the characters and point of view the production crew chose for them. While I was not in agreement with some of their creative choices, they did do an excellent job of having some very sweet and thoughtful family moments scattered throughout the drama.

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Relationships and UJu lost and found

There was a sweet moment at the airport for our couple and photographer couple. She is learning what her hubby likes for a change. Tae Hyeong and Hyeong Jin have become a formal couple and for a short while we see them be a happy family. During an outing Hyeong Jin drops UJu’s hand to retrieve what she thought was his toy. There is a frantic search and a nice lady finds him and brings him to management office. Unfortunately she is also the social worker that decides if they can be guardians or not. She of course determines through paperwork that they are not fit. When she has not checked their home, talked to the neighbors and daycare staff, or employers, she has not done her due diligence to give a fair assessment. She of all people should know it takes a village.

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