Alice_01

She is an actress for a reason lol I just hoped she was smarter and less of a Mother Teresa to use her acting skills in a better way to have an advantage instead of using them to gain pity from others...Sigh...I was so disappointed by her and Kihyun...Hyung gyu played both of them well, for his own advantage! I think from the beginning he tried and saw which players would turn out as good vessels for him to help him reach the final and would listen to his bit.

Currently on ep 10 and I can't help but get pissed off at Hyung gyu...Because if he knew about the 10 pieces reward by winning the hidden room game, he would survive either way, right? But instead he pulled in Sohee and Kihyun(sohee at least had lots of pieces but Kihyun's were average) and had one of them take the fall instead and only decided to use his hidden card to prevent himself from going into prison all the while rising to 1st place thank to the newly added pieces...
Sohee and Kihyun are playing way too much with feelings involved and doing that while having an alliance with a total T type of guy like Hyung gyu it was evident things would go south at one point...I am kinda disappointed at them and simultaneously amazed and terrified by Hyung gyu's manipulation skills and cleverness...He will use anything that he can get his hands on most beneficially and slyly...I guess this game was made for him...And I get now why the rest wanted to eliminate him before the finals so much! Anyway, still 2 eps to go...

Samee! Actually, I tried watching the first season while waiting for new episodes, but I only watched two episodes and stopped because I didn't find it as entertaining! However, I might pick it up later if I have nothing else. I think they did a great job with the casting this season since most participants have a great balance of brains and entertainment!

This final episode had literally EVERYTHING I wanted to see and yet I still felt a bit empty by the end of it because this is the final ep...I really can't let goo I need that S2 desperately!

25min long NG scenes clip dropped today~ You can watch it while we wait for the new episode!! ><
Also, most Korean comments there praise the production and cast and ask for a Season 2 like us, which is honestly amazing and shows first-hand the impact this series had locally!! I am so hopeful and happy now!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dPNsIRFQt8

Yes, that too for sure... Traffic actors and their enormous fanatic fandoms are also part of the problem for sure...But seeing as how all major platforms struggle to stay afloat even after using them, it means these fandoms are not enough to sustain them! If the general public doesn't support they will still face issues in the long run.

Yes, it seems that major Chinese streaming platforms like iQIYI, Tencent Video, and Youku are currently facing financial difficulties, which are already affecting the drama production industry. The competition among them is intensifying, pushing platforms to diversify their content in order to attract as many viewers as possible. For example, iQIYI is now investing more in mini and short dramas and has started airing previously shelved series to help offset losses and generate extra revenue. While this strategy may help platforms stay afloat, I don't think it's great news for viewers, as it likely means we’ll see fewer diverse and original dramas in the coming years and there will be tighter budgets. Platforms are scaling back on large-scale productions, cutting down on episodes and relying more on safe bets like popular IPs or internationally appealing content with more predictable plots and less creative risk-taking. I just hope they would focus on improving quality over quantity or just switching to short/mini series.

Oh, the brother and his wife’s storyline was actually the only arc I didn’t really enjoy either. Aside from his acting being a bit mid, I think it was more about how his character and villain arc were written those 2–3 episodes felt a bit hard to digest. But then again, maybe that was the intention? I mean a villain is supposed to make you uncomfortable or dislike them, so it's hard to say for sure.
As for the main couple,personally I genuinely enjoyed every stage of their journey. I’ve noticed some people tend to lose interest once the marriage happens, maybe because the “fresh romance” feeling fades and they skip over the married life part. I’ve experienced that myself with other shows too, where the spark just disappears after a certain point. But surprisingly, that didn’t happen with blossom maybe because I really liked the leads' chemistry and how their relationship evolved over time.

Maybe the premise of Blossom just didn’t resonate with you and that’s totally fine. Not every drama is for everyone. But I do think there’s a chance the show’s intent might have been missed or just never managed to reach you if you found it boring.

While the two C-dramas may share some similarities, their overall plotlines and emotional tones are quite different, so comparing them feels a bit off to me. In Blossom, the dynamic between the leads wasn’t nearly as strained, and there wasn’t a dark history between their families. So yes, calling this newer drama more “intense” is fair but that doesn’t mean Blossom was boring. For me, it was far from it. The directing was also excellent and the script had just as many beautiful and meaningful lines as this one.

Actually, the funny thing is that when I started this the first episode of POB reminded me a lot of Blossom’s opening not in terms of the story, but in the emotional impact it left on me. Nothing had pulled me in quite like that since. So personally, I enjoy both series for what they each bring to the table. (Just my opinion.)^^

That or he was just being a coward...I mean yeah Wei seem to have depended on Qiao's back up a lot so that they would have the advantage against the third party and they looked pretty well trained...I think the Qiao grandpa used the "bad omen" as an excuse to bail out cause of fear... Hopefully we will get to know in more detail what happened in future eps!

I see thank you for the detailed reply! I really hope we can get a S2 as well but I think that's quite hard for a cdrama if it wasn't originally the case...We will see I guess...Other way a sequel would take at least 2 years of wait haha...

Cdrama fandoms are truly scary and crazy...I don't get this at all as a casual viewer who just goes with the flow and watches cdrama for the drama itself and not the actors starring in it...Like if I like main cast here I might still dislike some of their other works in the future...I really don't get stan culture...Why sacrifice all this time, money and effort because a well deserved drama gets the spotlight instead of their fave? I don't even know or can guess who us responsible but damn...

There is no way they would cancel it while airing and for a side character at that...Maybe they can use Ai on her face or smth or tencent could try and bulk drop the eps so that they can milk it as much as possible! But i mean it's not the main cast that has an issue...Plus it usually takes time to investigate this kind of things so I think this drama will air safely!

To begin with the ML is a man raised in the military, so it's not surprising that he comes across as more of a sharp-tongued brute than a refined gentleman especially when you consider that the woman he's facing comes from the very clan that betrayed his own 14 years ago. They backed out of an alliance to save their own skin, which while understandable from their perspective, it is not something the Wei clan could easily forgive.

He has lost 3 generations of his family and many of his people in a single day at a very young age. That kind of trauma doesn't fade quickly. On top of that, he’s not naive he could sense the FL’s manipulation skills and cleverness, even if her intentions weren’t malicious. Which made him raise his guard more...

That said, I believe we’ll see gradual character growth in him as the story progresses, as he learns to trust, accept and eventually love her. And honestly, he's already a far better man than many so-called "gentlemen" here. Take her childhood friend and ex fiance for example who tied her up or used force against her and even used her name!
Plus If the ML were truly no good, the FL wouldn’t choose him in the end. She’s a smart woman. Like she said herself, "Water can wear down stone." :)

It's not worse but it's still bad...Hence why ML has already taken out the main guy who murdered his family but still accepted the marriage with FL and doesn't seem as proactive to kill the Qiao's though he does plan in the long run but we all know he will spare them in the end cause of FL...
Also, it's not just that the Wei family's three generations of men died, but they also lost many of their soldiers. Even if the Qiao clan didn't have the strongest army, if they had allied with the Wei clan, there was still a chance they could have won. To me, the real betrayal comes from the fact that both the Qiao and Wei families were originally in this canal project together, forming an alliance. But when the third party attacked the Wei clan, the Qiao family chose to backstab them, abandoning the alliance in order to save themselves. They figured that the Wei clan was doomed to lose anyway, so they cut their losses.
I can understand both sides honestly.. From the ML's perspective the hatred is clear but I also understand why the Qiao clan pulled away. If they had stayed loyal and lost they would have suffered the same fate as the Wei family. It all comes down to perspective.

Honestly, after watching all available eps and reading the comments, I am also having thoughts of this...Being both the ML or FL must suck big time...Because their relationship gets so complicated and twisted thanks to the past that it's hard to see how this can end well with a happy married life unless one backs down...And based on title it's pretty obvious ML will be by the end...But the whole journey will be quite the wild ride I expect

Btw the whole dilemma in this series is pretty wild if we are being honest. It’s like this battle between love and loyalty to your family. Like, how do you stay with someone you love when they might be the one who ends your entire family/clan? Or the fact that your family was indirectly involved in his family's bloodshed? It’s that gray area where you get why they did it (they wanted to protect their own from harm) but also, they definitely played a role in the downfall of the Wei clan...So it's not absurd for ML to want revenge...
But as the FL she can't help but be stuck in the middle of it all and it's honestly so...🤯

It makes sense when you think about it. At the end of the day, the Qiao clan is her family. If he were to kill them, it would kill their marriage too, how could she love the person who murdered her whole family/clan and raise children with him? From what I understand of the series so far, the Qiaos didn’t slaughter his clan personally or intentionally they pulled back when things got tough by not sending to assist them to protect their own clan from harm instead, right? Which sure, it’s immoral to betray the alliance and they played a role in the Wei clan's downfall overall...
But if he kills the Qiao clan now himself, it would be too direct & brutal...Especially if they’re going to build a future together, they need to let go of the past instead of going into an endless circle of hatred and bloodshed and focus on the present/future. But I also respect how he drew the line: If they strike first, that will be the end of it" And even the FL has to accept it! Like ML already put enough water in his wine...

Honestly, both of the Qiao uncles seem pretty foolish and sleazy so far at least in the first 7 episodes. They can tottally get led on by bad influence etc. or become FL's burden...But the rest of the clan are innocent people! The only hope for their family seems to be the FL’s younger male cousin. He’s definitely the brightest and most rightful one among them all, so hopefully he can fix their mistakes and lead the clan in the right direction.

Legend of Zang Hai has yet to air right? I also hope it turns out just as good as this one so I can have two cdrama to look forward after such a long time!

FINALLY a historical C-drama I can look forward to every day! The past few months have been a real drought in Cdramaland, with hardly any series worth watching to the end so far in 2025. But these first 7 episodes? They flew by in the blink of an eye, didn't even feel like 45 minutes each to me! Now I’m just left here wanting more... It’s a bit frustrating, but at the same time I can't help feeling grateful for it, because it means something has truly captured my full attention!

As for the ratings and viewership, I say we shouldn’t worry too much. As long as the drama maintains its quality and the audience continues to grow and engage/talk about it online, it'll eventually capture the international spotlight too just like it's already doing in China.^^