Reviews

Impressions

Man ends up at Musan’s place. Fortunately for her she is rescued by monthly which gets to test MuSun on getting pads for her.😂🤣 she has fun testing him on all his meticulous habits and he is capable of a better self around her. When he tucks her in I have to smile that there is a kinder, gentler guy well hidden under all those red flags. He is not a nice person, but he can be a gentleman and I give him points for that. Her checking the bedsheets and slamming the door. 😂 She is deliberately bold taking over his living room for her meeting and he rewards her with home made spaghetti even after her teasing. She intrigues him and that makes him more interesting. I think MuSun’s job offer has the pretense of being kind to KaiXi but whether it’s to help stick it to Chen Mian via work or seducing his wife remains to be seen. KaiXi is blossoming with this venture and finding herself with more boldness and capabilities. Her job is a farce but if MuSun manages to keep that from her she will grow as a more independent person and find where her talents really lie. I want to smack Chen for insulting the meal she spent hours to prepare and then telling her to order him fried chicken. He is treating her new job as a hobby to keep her from imagining his liaisons with other women. 😡 I cannot wait to see him kicked to the curb. Man refers QingCheng to an acting opportunity which really sounds promising, until she arrives and it’s all about catering to the diva main actress. Not only was she slammed for being old the diva thinks she is getting too much attention from her favorite director and now will have it in for her. Handsy director thinks he is being honorable showing her his divorce certificate while setting a salary to take care of his dad and twins. What a winner.😝🙄 Man tries to bail her out but MuSun interrupts and now it has turned into an impromptu double date. QingCheng is thankful for the company until the director asks if anything going on between Man and MuSun. Now it is quiet while episode ends.This drama has made all the men creeps. I am hoping there will be a civilized male at some point. The women are dealing with the quandaries of juggling family, careers and relationships and we get front row seats to issues most women deal with on a regular if not daily basis. I like that this drama candidly addresses these issues through character interactions and women’s conversations.

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KaiXi learns she is a painting, QingCheng loses part and Man deals with family expectations

KaiXi and Man chat about their circumstances married vs single. KaiXi is mom and wife but has lost herself and identity in the process of running the family. Man has chosen her own path and charging boldly ahead, but she has the burden of public and family opinion with no partner or family to give her privacy and support. This episode has KaiXi with friends comparing women that appeal to men and the benefits of divorce. They have plenty to say til the subject of their gossip shows up. One comparison that struck a chord with KaiXi was the pretty woman who was a painting, once admired, now forgotten. The career woman was like a book that could continue to be read and explored. QingCheng is looking forward to her audition when she gets a call that something came up and she was no longer needed. Her phone has a lot of red lines through interviews and ya have to wonder if her refusal to scummy director has been spread to others to blackball her from other parts Her roomie comes in very drunk and haggard. She was MuSun’s date to the premier. She got kicked to the curb early and went clubbing to come home worse for the wear. She is feeling old at 29. QingCheng tries to offer sound advice about the shopping bribe and what that really meant. Man gets a call from dad wanting to know why his capable daughter could earn every certificate but a marriage one? I am glad she hung up on him because he was rather relentless in his bashing of her as a person. She visits her ex to see the dog and gets dinner with his parents. She even tries a date to a bday party and sees what she was missing not being in their social circle—turns out to be career tier gossip session. She was no more impressed with this lot than KaiXi’s high society friends. She rolls her eyes at thinking she ever wanted to be part of this crowd. She received a reminder of her 22 year old self from a book she had returned by her ex’s ex. She stood up for herself nicely at that wreck of a bday party and told loser ex to shove off, but ends up in a bar crying over drinks. She texted KaiXi to meet her but MuSun shows up instead. She drunkenly tells him how fed up she is with guys having it better in the workplace and the expectations of marriage and family placed on women over career. He invites her to his place and I am not sure if he will be helping her or taking advantage of her. Man is a mess and needs a friend’s shoulder, but he’s not a safe place to land.

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Great story, left a bad after taste thought

I loved how it started. Both the leads have such a great chemistry and are soo soo good at playing their characters. I just couldn't see mhok taking the blame at the end. All this amazing delivery throughout the series and the ending ruined it for me. I mean blaming your big brother for an accident is understandable still(not really but anyway) but blaming someone who soo deeply cares for you and is worried for your safety because they have been through something similar is cruel. Even after three years!! I feel bad for mhok. Day was a jerk in the past looking down on people, but dude, how the fuck is he acting like a spoiled baby, and more importantly, why is everyone around him tolerating him. Not my cup of tea, this kind of relationship, even in fiction. I have see red flags, but the worst kind of people are those who are so convincing towards everyone that the other person is a red flag because they themselves believe it. They are not manipulating or evil, they just genuinely believe they did nothing wrong that everyone else has to end up pampering them.

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Mature romance, smart leads

Rating it a 10 based on my impression mid series. The fact that I binged watched 23 of 36-episode series is pretty amazing by my standards as I generally fast forward the episodes of most cdramas. They tend to be overly dragged out with lots of pacing issues and fillers, not to mention silly females who need rescuing. Not this, not so far. I liked that the leads established their affections early, and clearly. Lots of communication and vulnerability shared in private moments. Both leads kept secrets from each other even though they were in love, but trusted that there were reasons to do so. Their responsibilities to country and family did not disappear overnight just because they have declared their feelings. Even though their obligations and duty are at odds, they understood each other and often in sync with their actions. Also, yay to a feminist family of women who ran businesses and owned assets. Also yay to confidently asserting one's desires without care of societal judgments, literally in cohabitation with each other and no one in the household blinked an eye! Very rare to see in a period drama.Part II of review, on completion.So, this was on track to be on my fav cDrama list but I never got the emotional payback. I really wanted the FL to show some vulnerability and trust for her partner. She remained in control and capable and unflappable. The only time where she appeared to have yielded to her feelings was when she was on the swing he built her, and she had smiled widely in delight. This huge emotional imbalance carried on to the end, and wished their relationship was more developed. I really wanted both leads to work together to showcase their bond, but the FL pretty much resolved the issues 5 steps ahead. ML had so much potential as a character but the 3rd arc of the show with his toxic family just threw the story off kilter. I guess it's meant to juxtapose his patriarchal family with her matriarchal one. Yay to strong, powerful women, but expressing emotions and leaning on your male loved ones for strength are not weaknesses. I think this show missed an opportunity there.

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