SteDiamond

I feel like we’re going in circle. Again, I agree with your point but what I’m saying is before watching any drama, I read the synopsis for it and decide whether or not I want to watch it.

The drama I wanted to watch (based on the synopsis) isn’t what this drama is… this was the synopsis:
“Genius girl Lin Zhi Xia is straightforward and socially awkward, having no friends since childhood. After entering No. 1 High School in the province, she meets the sunny and charismatic top student, Jiang Yu Bai, through a problem solving competition and becomes his desk partner. As a social butterfly, Jiang Yu Bai helps Lin Zhi Xia fit in, introducing her to friends like Tang Ting Ting, Duan Qi Yan, Shen Fu Xuan, and Jin Bai Hui. To show her gratitude, Lin Zhi Xia tutors him, and their relationship gradually shifts from one of competition to one of mutual support, eventually making them best friends”

So after i read this synopsis I went into the drama expecting a character closer to how Sheldon Cooper was socially inept, which would be a unique experience to see in a Cdrama. For example, Sheldon was so honest/blunt that he couldn’t understand basic sarcasm

This fl was no different than the fl from a cdrama like “Our secret” for example. If you swap the genius FL from this one with the normal Fl from the cdrama our secret, the story would virtually stay the same

And let’s be honest, her portrayal of someone smart wasn’t something different. Every Cdramas portray being smart like her.. everyone eventually ended up loving her, the ml was the one who didn’t feel comfortable around people. the socially inept portrayal of geniuses is mainly in western shows where we value athletic gifts, instead of intelligence

Einstein was estimated to have an IQ of 160 but by today’s standard, yes it would be higher. But He was a grown man and was still considered weird amongst his peers. He was mostly surrounded by smart people like him, it has nothing to do with how someone that smart would fit in a high school environment surrounded by normal kids

The fact that she was a genius really did amount to nothing, Sheldon won a noble prize at the end of its show. She solved difficult math problems, read difficult books and graduated early to become a teacher but besides that nothing. Maybe a few lectures

And Ji Buhai wasn’t a genius. yes she was extremely smart and academically gifted but so was everyone in the core friendship group, including the brother. You seemed to forget that the ml was also extremely smart and considering what he did in the drama, I would say that he was even smarter than Ji Buhai. The fl should have stood a league above them.. which is why I think that the fact that their crew basically achieve the same streamline of success, meant that her uniqueness didn’t amount too much

Being smart means you still have to work on it, for a genius however it comes effortless. The scene where they first met and had to solve a problem on the board, showed the difference. Which is why I liked Ji Buhai better because no matter how much effort she put in, she still couldn’t beat the natural gifted talent. She was more human, which is why the second couple was much better.

I hate to go back to the Big Bang theory as example but every cast (except Penny) in that show was extremely smart, but Sheldon however was a genius. He stood a league above them and the show never let you forget it.

which is why no matter how much success the others got, he won the ultimate prize. He had the biggest career success, emotionally growth, and relationship growth too. However you might perceive his marriage but the fact that he was able to move in with his girlfriend and be married, is astronomical. And his ending felt earned but you didn’t get something like that from the fl, she basically stayed the same from start to finish

Again I liked the drama but I can name plenty of slice of life/high school drama where the FL is smart and do pretty much the same thing. The fact that she was a genius but social inept was supposed to be the unique trait, we never seen before.

I’m not saying that every smart character should act like Sheldon but we already got plenty of smart FL that acts like her so when I read the synopsis, I was excited expecting something closer to Sheldon

True Sheldon was written as a caricature of a smart person that most people in real life, would find annoying but that’s what made him fascinating to watch

And She wasn’t just a genius. She had a higher IQ than Einstein when she was in middle school and people who are that kind of smart, tend to find dealing with every day normal thing to be tedious. Plus to add to that, she was said to have low EQ

In reality, she would be extremely standoffish, lonely, and depressed. She wouldn’t be so desperate to make friends because she wouldn’t care much about the hobbies of high school students and prefer to spent more time by herself, learning. Or even worse, hide her intelligence all together if she wanted to fit in

But that wasn’t my point, the plot specifically said that she was a social inept girl that needed the Ml “a social butterfly” to help her make friends. The ML and the doctor guy was technically more socially awkward than she was, hell she was the one who initiated the friendship with the ML and her first girl friend

I never said she wasn’t a good character, I only said that she wasn’t what the plot described. I went into the drama, expecting a character like Sheldon but found the usual typical Fl. Once I got over the fact that she wasn’t that, it was a decent watch

Having a smart fl is common but having a genius and socially inept fl, was a unique twist that I was excited to watch. Even the fact that she was a genius didn’t amount to much, other than the fact that people was jealous of her brain

To me, I saw it as him seeing her as the pinnacle and that’s not such a bad thing.
don’t get me wrong, He was a jerk on different occasions but not this aspect

I was half expecting the FL to be somewhat close to someone like Sheldon cooper from the Big Bang theory than what she’s actually like.
she isn’t as socially inept as the plot claim. she’s basically just a typical FL that the drama say, is a socially awkward person that lacks basic social cues.
In reality, She was just a bit blunt and you wouldn’t be able to tell her apart from the usual slice of life, high school FL
Besides that, it was a cute fun drama and really lighthearted. Nothing special but not bad

Am I the only one who can see that the logic of the show failed.
She kept saying she fell in love with the 22 version not the 21, but technically the same person
She couldn’t logically be with in a relationship with the 22 version because the 21 version exists. If in the future the 21 version falls in love with someone else or the date they try to set him up with the mistress did actually work. Then the 22 version would be and a committed relationship with someone else for over a year and not in love with the FL.
The copout of giving the 21 version the memories of the 22 version is Kinda dumb, memories shouldn’t be able to travel backward
logically speaking the only ending that would’ve make sense is for the FL to realize that deep down they’re same person. to prevent the trauma of the 22 version, she would have to protect the 21 version, fall in love with him. Then the 22 version would be absolute so the last thing he would do since he’s going to disappear is to sacrifice himself for the their happiness
Instead the 21 version became a sml to himself and the FL was actually kind of mean to him. What if the 21 version grew to realize that she isn’t a good person, then the 22 version would see her as toxic because it’s not a parallel universe, where both versions are different

The story is lacking and yet it’s probably one of the few drama where I liked both main leads.
The fl isn’t a villain but that doesn’t make her a victim. Most of her traumas are Self-inflicted, except for the kid (hate the drama for what happens to her). She’s the most complex character in this drama and the actress did a good job portraying her. Since she’s been hurt, she was OK abusing others to achieve her goal. She was borderline sociopathic.
The ml is the ultimate victim in this drama. he’s kind, gentle and saved/redeemed the fl. he did also take advantage of the FL loneliness. Yes he genuinely did care for the FL but at the same time he forced his way into her life, knowing that the FL would fold because she craved affection. He basically lovebomb her for his case, most people are calling him a simp but as I saw it he deliberately approached the FL to intentionally use her against the villains
Which is why I found their dynamic to be interesting. The fl was usually in control around those powerful men in her life but when she met the ML who most would say was beneath her, she lost that control

You’re right and I’ve watched all then, if you like I can give you the names of the FL I actually love. I just hate the current version of FLs we’re getting.
I hated the toxic mls we used to get and celebrate when that trope died but now I think we’re getting an overcorrection meaning nowadays FL are either weak or marry sue that are extremely selfish, vain, hateful and lack true character. They’re now the toxic version of what I use to hate under the umbrella of empowerment. It’s just rinse and repeat
I should also be able to call out the pattern, I used to see in toxic male leads in the past
And FYI, yes the account is new but I’ve been Watching drama since I’ve been in my early teens. I’ve watched countless 60+ episodes drama where characters were able to be unique.
You want to see real strength, watch story of Ming lan, empresses in the palace and Ni Ni from the rise of the Phoenixes. I don’t need to see a ml that look good to watch a drama, which is the common critics I’ve seen against them
And P.S. my issue with my Royal nemesis is the ml

Ik that but while watching the drama, the same question kept repeating in my head… does she truly love him and it kinda stopped me from getting immersed in the story because I couldn’t move past the shallowness part of the story and more questions kept popping up
It’s not the first time that we have leads that use each other, but they kept shoving the fact that she herself is a victim and we should feel sorry for her, when that’s far removed from the reality of her situation
Take a somewhat similar drama my Royal nemesis (tho I have my issue with that story in general) the FL herself, acknowledges the fact that what she’s doing is wrong but in this one we didn’t get that from her, she stay believing that she’s a victim of the system
I believe the ML was being abused in this drama and the fl essentially became one of his abusers without even acknowledging it. It’s not always physical, the fl weaponize his loneliness to her benefit to gain what she wanted
even at the end of the drama I still couldn’t answer the original question, does she truly love him

Honestly I like the drama but isn't it a bit weird that most female empowerment cdramas nowadays tend to literally be the same.
it's always A FL that dreams of seeing the world and not be in the Palace, they have some weird skill that they use to start a business that becomes extra successful.
when the reality is that they wouldn't be able to start a business back then even if they were skilled and going to the palace would better to help other women because merchants were seen as the bottom of society. As an empress, she would be able to change laws that help women
Gone are the days where the fl were able to thrive in a real patriarchal system, now the world seem to bend to their will, I miss female leads like Ming lan (which till this day I think it’s the peak of female empowerment)
Ik that it has nothing to do with this drama really, I guess I just kinda wanted more from the fl

I recently started watching it and I’m at ep 5. They made her shock, crying, hell even blaming her dad for using weapons that she created for war.
Nukes were originally created for peace and this Fl who is written as smart, can’t figure out that long range weapon will be used to kill people. The drama is desperately trying to make her sympathetic but in reality she’s a weapon dealer.
To defend her you can use the excuse that her dad manipulated her but anyone who comes across her design, even without knowing her will use it for war. She’s not blameless in this and the ML trying to protect her from the truth that her design was use to kill 30,000 soldiers is just wrong

While watching this, I thought to myself that this reminded me of the Lois Lane and Clark Kent dilemma.. who does she really love Superman or Clark Kent
I wanted to love the drama but tho I’m a big fan of IU, I hated the FL. I find her trauma to be nonexisting.. she already was the richest person.. her family that was supposed to hate her, don’t. It all comes back to a rich girl problem
If you take the romanticize framing of the story, she is incredibly vain and selfish. If the ML wasn’t a prince, she wouldn’t care about him. She didn’t see him as a person but the title she needed
And the ML decision to abolish the monarchy at the end is probably the stupidest thing I’ve seen in a Kdrama. They framed it as him stopping the class system, but all he did was giving it away. Meaning the monarchy was at the top but by stopping it, he just gave the power away to the rich. The only person that won at the end was the FL, she got rid of her commoner status and became the top of the new hierarchy..

I’m sorry to say it doesn’t work that way, therapy isn’t a cure all, be all.
War veteran who experienced something similar to what he did, most of the time stayed with the trauma their entire lifetime. SA victims spend years before being able to be intimate with their partner.
Ik that it’s a drama and we don’t need to read too much into it but I don’t think the writers needed to write that about him except for the fact they want the FL to be his healing method but in real life, that situation would be extremely dangerous for him and her.
Romance can’t be a simple solution for what would be years of therapy, trying to cope with it. even with all of that, that kind of severe PTSD stays with you and comes back whenever

Which I found weird, it was like he was traumatized only when the plot required him to be. His child trauma was easily forgotten, and then they had that the guy was kidnapped and forced to fight for his life. His trauma would work opposite of what they showed meaning hug/physical intimacy would have the reverse effect on him
people who been physically abuse tend to find physical intimacy to be triggering even if it was a love one. He would be emotionally numb, hypervigilant meaning he would be in a constant flight or fight mode, and most importantly he would find coping with every day mundane life hard

I wanted to love the drama for the FL actress but I ended up disliking it mainly because how they treated the ML, he became too passive in the story and lovesick… he was sold as a cold calculative person but then they strip him of his agency, meaning a lot of dire stuff were happening around him but he kept ignoring them to focus/chasing again again after the FL. I didn’t get why he fell in love with her and kept ignoring her boundaries, when she says no the dude just straight up ignores it. In the end, they frame her making that choice as a tragic romantic one but I saw it as just a a cheap plot device to make her seems like she sacrifice a lot for him.. if I’m being honest, the one who hurt the Ml the most is the FL but then again he was a non-character that didn’t get the chance to explore his emotions.. in the end he’s just another basic simp that is there to compliment the Fl

Since it’s been heavily recommended for me, I decided to watch it and I gotta say I didn’t like the ending. Let me start by saying what happened to the fl was monstrous, but I think the writers used that as a shield to protect her to make the audience feel sorry for her.
The ML went to hell and back for her but the FL treated him as nothing more than her backup plan. she only chose him after she’s left with no other options. When she went back home after realized the things the ML did for her, had she truly chosen the ml she would have divorced her husband and wait for him to come back. She herself said that if her husband didn’t care about the rumors about her and accepted her back, she would have gone back to him
I was desperately hoping for a gone with the wind ending where the ml realize his worth and gave her the famous frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn
It’s not that I wish harm for her but behind the romanticized framing of the story, the FL cast aside the ML throughout the drama while his entire being is the fl. She never truly picked the Ml in my opinion, it’s only when he was her only choice that she gave him a chance. The drama is the perfect example of nice guy finish last.