Reviews

Pretty toxic relationship glorified as mature romance

This is a story about the relationship between a young woman fresh out of college and her boss that started from a 1 night stand that devolved into a 6-year secret office relationship with poor communication & shallow emotional connection erupting in a prolonged 3-year break up after FL didn’t get promoted and finally ending with her taking ML back after he made more effort.

Admittedly there were a lot of good things about ES – JBR & his amazing portrayal of Luke, the production value, the visuals, the friendships, how it showed the struggle of making it as a young professional in Beijing, and how I looked forward to each new episode to see how the story would play out... Most modern romantic cdramas don’t have this kind of thrilling pacing.

But TBH after finishing it, I am left feeling troubled and uneasy, almost like there’s a bad taste in my mouth. It really wasn’t a very romantic story, and most of the time I was frustrated or pissed off with Luke/Flora/both. Despite the good points, my overall viewing impression is too negatively influenced by the toxic relationship between the main couple. Luke alternated between mentoring Flora, liking her, and disrespecting her. Imagine, 6 years into their relationship, he was still calling her dumb. Maybe it was playful teasing bordering on bullying. Still, it felt disrespectful. Let’s keep it real - he gets away with such asinine behavior mostly because of his looks and his position. Meanwhile, Flora would just take in all the verbal abuse, probably justifying it as a learning lesson, and also thinking this is how he is. I couldn’t believe how over 6 years, their relationship continued to be pretty shallow with little meaningful conversation, and still the insults. Yes, they got together initially because of physical attraction, probably both were drawn to each other because of the power imbalance, and later on there’s probably some form of respect over their similar work ethic that developed...but I was waiting for growth in their personal relationship, a deeper understanding and emotional connection during their 6 years together...it just didn’t happen.

Their interactions in episode 19, after 6 years (!) into their relationship really show the lack of maturity, understanding, and progress in their relationship -

During the drive to Tibet:
Flora: You are so gentle today.
Luke: Have I ever hit you? (ICK!)
Flora: No...I just wish you could be this gentle with me more often. (HOW HAS SHE ENDURED?!?)
Luke: So you like someone who’s soft? (WHAT?! HOW DOES HE NOT KNOW?!?)

And then back at their hotel in Tibet:
Flora: I appreciate that you never threw tantrums at me. You didn’t leave me behind on the streets. Congratulations. You have become someone I trust. (JUST DIDN'T FEEL GOOD LISTENING TO THIS!)

And following her phone call with parents:
Flora: Then, can we talk?
Luke: About what?
Flora: Let’s talk about the first time we met.
...
Luke: When I first met you I was thinking how can someone be this dumb? Like a big dummy.
Flora (pouts): I’m tired now.
(JUST, NO)

Their long breakup should have come sooner!

Even though they both evolved for the better after their 3 year separation, seeing them get back together still felt wrong, an ill-fit. If their story continued 10, 20 years down the road, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them repeat the unhealthy cycle of breaking up & getting back together ad nauseum.

I agree with the opinion that she should be with someone who can read her emotions and feelings better, someone who is gentle and understands her...and that he should be with someone confident & daring who can rein him in and call out all his shenanigans (he’s kind of like Domyouji in Hana Yori Dango, he needs a Tsukushi...). So the imbalance of power, different emotional level, lack of empathy, were just too much...it’s like each one is feeding into the other’s negative traits. It’d be best if the story ended with them going their separate ways.

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I needed more Heart and Li Ming!

I watched this because I saw a clip of GeminiFourth's story and wanted to check it out. I absolutely loved their storyline so much! I love Heart and Li Ming as characters individually as well as together. Their scenes together were my favorite! Heart was such a loveable and funny character and Gemini did a great job playing him! Li Ming was my favorite character in the series overall. I loved how he learned sign language to be able to communicate with Heart easier! So sweet! Everything he ever fought with his uncle about; I was always on his side rather than Jim's. I loved what he stood for and what he fought for. I just adored his character and Fourth did a great job as well. I just think the two of them are such incredible actors!!

I liked Wen a bit, I think out of the adults he is who I liked the best. I liked how he was always trying to make Jim see Li Mings pov on things. I thought he was pretty caring and funny too. As for his relationship with Alan, I was happy to see him move out of their place. I think it would've been impossible for Alan to be able to move on if he stayed there any longer. I think Alan needed to wake up and realize that Wen already moved on and they couldn't be together. I understand why he would be confused in moments with them sleeping together as well as living together though. Their one big fight scene felt so real, and I have to give major credit to First and Mix for that! Love them!
Now about Jim...I didn't like this man the entire show. He was grumpy, negative, always giving Li Ming a hard time for no reason, and was just very unlikeable to me. I just constantly disagreed with what he was doing or saying. I was never on his side when he was fighting with Li Ming or Wen, and just never liked how he handled most things. The thing that pissed me off the most was when he was mad at Li Ming for being gay when he's gay himself. I did think his best and sweetest moments were with Wen. They were pretty cute together and I of course LOVE EarthMix!
I loved Kaipa! Him or Wen were the two adults I liked the best! He was so loveable and I loved seeing Khaotung play such a sweet guy (feel like it doesn't happen often). I really thought we were going to get more of him and Alan sooner in the show, but I actually really liked that it just was a little thing at the end. All the stuff with his mom passing made me so emotional. It was so beautifully done. My heart hurt for him. I felt bad about his crush on Jim not working out and Khao's acting made you really feel his heartbreak. So sad.

I liked Saleng and Praew for what we saw of them. We didn't really see very much of Praew at all, but I liked hers and Saleng's relationship. I loved that Saleng really stepped up to work hard now that he was becoming a father. So sweet.

Overall, I did like this show, but I will say that the Li Ming and Heart storyline was way more interesting than the main storyline with Wen and Jim. There were quite a few moments I was bored with their story where I was always looking forward to and wanted more of Heart and Li Mings. That could be because I didn't care for Jim though. That being said, I am happy I watched it. I love this cast of actors so much and am always happy to see them in something.

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gamer boyfriends being wholesome

I think this series was really cute, Bas and Maxky are always a treat to see on the screen. It was very different from the characters that got me hooked on the pairing but seeing Bas play a more shy character and Maxky a more goofy one was a treat.
I do agree I wish there was a tiny bit more romance, but I also think the people rating this sooo low because of it is a little overkill. I think maybe we are all just used to a bit more explosive romance from these two.

Gunner Newton kinda kept my eyes glued to them a majority of the time. There was a tension there that was insane and I really really loved their chemistry.
I LOVED seeing Ben and Jay back on the screen as a subtle side character pairing, I wish we had gotten more out of them tho. I hope we see more from both pairings, Ben and Jay stole my heart with Caged Again and I know some people hated it but I can't relate. I get excited to see them both on the screen since that series.

I wont lie that this was a little lackluster than I was expecting, but I am also chalking this up to it not entirely being my type of series. I like a little more tension personally. I think the most memorable scene for me was the scene where Bas's and Maxky's character were in the bedroom and it was very clear Bas's character wasn't ready to get physical, the display of recognizing when your partner wasn't ready to take things to the next step was literally everything, even if it was just a small scene.
It left a lasting impression on me.

Anyway, excited to see what comes next for all characters~

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What an interesting, heart-breaking story.

It is a story that shows how gray, corrupt, and unfair the world can be. A world where some have to steal and con to survive, and others steal and con to thrive. Where people who have fallen are used as lower rungs to lift those who selfishly want more than most.

I love how real and dark this story is and how it portrays each side in such a dramatic way.

Tan Jian Ci, once again shows his acting range. He can play a character that towers over everyone and everything then can shrink and lower himself. He has multiple facets and emotions, and I love how he can play such heartwarming, heart wrenching characters.

The FL (Lan Xi Ya) was amazing. Such emotions and determination are shown in her character ... Superb.

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Typical Wish Fulfillment Drama filled with Cliches.

Love Scenery has a pretty cute premise: a famous singer unknowingly becomes gaming partners with a college student who happens to already be one of her fans. The whole thing gives me very old-school shoujo vibes, with an extremely idealized male lead, fate constantly pushing two people together, and an overall fluffy, easygoing romance. At least compared to a lot of older shoujo, the ML is also genuinely nice instead of being toxic for half the story.

My biggest problem is how artificial the romance feels. I don't mind coincidences at all, especially at the beginning of a story like this. One person is a celebrity and the other is a random college student, so obviously the writer needs something to bring them together. But this show just keeps doing it over and over again.

They're on the same flight. Their completely unrelated events happen at the same hotel. They independently go to the same internet café and somehow end up in the same row. The ML even happens to live in the exact dorm room the FL used to live in and sleeps in her old bed. They met each other years ago. They have a friend who is close to both of them. After a while, fate stops being cute because you can practically see the writer moving these two people next to each other.

And the annoying thing is that the show eventually doesn't even need to do this anymore. They're already gaming partners. They're texting each other. They're interested in each other. They have a mutual friend. At that point, just let their own decisions bring them closer instead of constantly having the universe do it for them.

The gaming was probably my biggest disappointment. I actually like watching dramas built around games. Falling Into Your Smile and The King's Avatar made me interested in the games themselves, even though they're obviously fictionalized. Here, the game barely feels like it has actual mechanics. Here the characters can fight, grapple, hold each other, flirt, do ridiculous physical moves, basically whatever the current scene needs them to do. It feels less like a videogame and more like a virtual world where the writers can make the avatars kiss, fight, flirt, or do whatever whenever they feel like it.

And even ignoring the unrealism, the gaming scenes just weren't that fun to watch. I can forgive a fake videogame for being unrealistic if watching people play it is entertaining. Here I mostly found myself waiting for those scenes to end because the action most of the time was just FL screwing up ML being the hero.

The FL being terrible at games also gets taken way too far. She doesn't just suck at the game. Sometimes she acts genuinely terrified of dying, hides instead of fighting, and behaves like something is actually going to happen to her if her character dies. It's supposed to be cute, but it started feeling ridiculous pretty quickly.

Then there's the ML, who is basically wish fulfillment in human form. He's a genius student, elite gamer, insanely popular streamer, musician, great basketball player, ridiculously perceptive, and apparently good at whatever else the episode needs that day.

Again, an idealized ML isn't automatically a problem. This is a fluffy romance. Go wild. My problem is how hard the show keeps trying to prove that he's amazing at everything.

Some of the CS/genius scenes were especially funny to me. There are scenes using extremely basic CS and machine-learning concepts to show how intelligent he is. At one point, two students doing supposedly important academic research are struggling with an overfitting model, and he basically looks at it and suggests reducing the number of iterations. They're amazed that they didn't think of it. Like what is that its like asking a mechanic who my car does not start and the mechanic is like oh did you check the battery?

The second male lead was another problem entirely. He's interested in a woman who barely talks to him and repeatedly avoids him whenever he approaches her. Somehow his response isn't to take the hint but to become even more persistent. The point where I was completely done with him was when he learned she was filming a variety show in another province, flew there despite still having his own acting job to finish, found her show, sat in the audience thinking something like "baby, I'm here," and then had to fly back the same day.

They've barely even had a conversation.

Like that shii is just plain old CREPPY

There were still things I liked. The basic premise is cute. The acting is not that bad. The show is light and easygoing. The ML is actually pleasant instead of being the usual cold, controlling jerk. And I liked the whole gaming partner turning out to be my Idol mystery case and him figuring that out was fun.

The romance wasn't strong enough yet to make me stop caring, the gaming wasn't entertaining enough to carry it, and the secondary romance was actively making the show worse for me.

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Very deep and painful movie.

What struck me most of all was how much it means just to be around. In the scene where he seems to conjure so that the shadow from the tree disappears - there is no pathos, no beautiful words, but so much real care that it becomes bitter and warm at the same time. She didn't need explanations, she needed to know that she was not alone. And he understood it without words and just did what he could. And when in the final he runs away not for himself, but to break these branches again... it literally fascinates me. It's not an attempt to fix everything, it's his way of saying: "I can't be there, but I'll at least remove what scares you."

The scenes where she imagines herself healthy and fools around, dances with her lover and the characters from the picture - they are really bitterly beautiful. It's bitter, because it's just an oasis, a mirage that's about to melt. Beautiful, because in these moments they are truly happy and sincere - and this sincerity does not depend on whether they see an oasis or not. The title of the film falls right in the heart: it's a short, fragile island of peace in the middle of a heavy, unfair reality.

The scene at the banquet also hits the mark. Bringing her there is both a silent accusation against her brother, a reminder of the crime committed and avoidance of responsibility, and at the same time a very bold, almost desperate statement: "This is my girlfriend, look at her, accept it." And the way the family can't stand this truth, how it's easier for it to see only the criminal in it, and the problem in it, makes the scene especially difficult.

And the final... this helplessness is so clearly visible there - when you try your best to help, shout, try to convey that a person is kind, and they just don't hear you, they don't try to hear you. This is probably the most painful thing: not that the world is unfair, but that sometimes it just doesn't want to notice your truth.

This movie is about the fact that real feelings do not depend on health, wealth or family approval. When there is room for sincerity between two people, everything else becomes not so significant.

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Well thoughtout character development

Without any spoilers, I can say that this was a good watch. While there were moments in this Part that I thought could’ve been cut or didn't need as much detail, I am glad they didn't cut the parts I felt were integral to understanding and seeing each character's growth. Often, when shows have many characters, and each is very complex, they let you assume how they get their character development; this show does not do that. Without overly explaining their growth to you, the show allows the dialogue and the acting to show you how each character is growing and how their views and perceptions are shifting.

Beautifully shot, gorgeous OST, and amazing acting; would 100% recommend.

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Could've been better

I liked the concept and the message it tried to show. I just hoped it had more scenes of Deep night while doing the acts and dances.

It rarely showed the hosts doing the performances

I loved the actors. Shogun's voice is so mesmerizing, i could keep listening it

It was so bold of them to show 3 people relationship. I personally don't find it wrong if the people involved don't have problem with the relationship

The series gave a pov of the person who does this work coz he loves his job and doesn't need to be shamed about it.

I loved the performance of the main leads, it was so beautiful.

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