My goodness there seems to be a lot of Esther Wu haters out there. Don't believe me, just google this drama. My opinion is that these people are ridiculous. First of all, this drama is doing fine. I think on this platform it began with like a 7.9 or 8 and it now up to an 8.4. The same holds true with both iqiyi and viki where metrics continue to show a drama that is gaining not losing viewers.
There are lots of haters out there who are carping about her acting. Yet I believe that she is something else in this role. She has managed to keep the fine line between her little girl, pixie aura and this on fire angel of passion. He Yu has the good boy gone bad aura down pat. In fact, I believe his cigarette lighter moves was better than Chen Feiyu in Lighter and Princess. And his sultry looks are powerful. But it is the sweet little fire angel who burns him down and melts him to mush. That artfully done passion is why this drama continues to be popular.
Then there is implied incest nonsense. Yes, as little children they believed they were real siblings. But they are now adults who have been separated for years and they know that there is no biological connection! Who can forget the mother yelling to Mu Mu that is not her brother. Seems clear to me. How inane to claim that there is something dirty or immoral going on here.
Now about the director. Again I don't know much about him, except for for one thing. With apples, strawberries, and grapes he is an expert.
A couple of observations. The first is that this MC has pushed into the outer limits, of a cdrama, romantic tension and excitement. Before anyone disagrees with me, go watch the apple scene. The second is my prediction that He Yu, who was popular before, is about to enter the stratosphere of ML actors. He was really good in My Fated Boy, but here he is pure fire.
So far, like a fine single malt scotch this is a drama you come to enjoy sip by sip and with each sip it gets better. A large hurtle to overcome was the betrothal back home situation. Frankly, that arc is the weakest part of the drama. In fact it could have been covered with just a couple of episodes. And just as I was about to shout out enough with the tea trade stuff, the D had the good sense to come back to it's strength -- the love story with our main couple.
With our FL there is no romance curve. Rather it is a rocket. She falls in love with our ML totally, completely, and emotionally at first sight. If she can't have him she will have no one else. She will just wait for her next life because she has faith she will instantly recognize him there. Yet, things are slower for our ML. We have the above mentioned girl back home. And he has a complicated life. But when his friends confront him to face his feelings and dangle the possibility of arranging another groom for her he realizes that he loves her completely.
And so we come to our slow, wonderful drawn out confession scene. We viewers have waited for it for over 20 episodes and it is worth the weight. First we deal with the love triangle that never was. But then we have our future groom only dealing with Father. And then he finally comes to her room and he finds the door slammed shut. He then reads to her the boring confession letter in best scholarly voice. Door slammed again. And then she finally appears. In no way will she settle for a marriage born out of obligation (she has only saved his life twice). If he can't give himself to her, heart, body and soul, then forget it, she will just wait for their next life. With a blazing eye she tells him she did not understand one word in his erudite, boring letter. "Tell me what do I mean to you!!" And then he opens up. "You are the most important person in my life! What do you mean to can be said in just a few words, "You are etched in my heart." She had waited years for that and I shed a tear.
And then we have the wedding. I am a wholehearted, hardcore fan of the Story of Minglan. And dramas that pay homage to it gain big bonus points with me. You can't help but be reminded of the procession of Gu Ting Ye. When Gu Ping walks into the bridal chamber she asks him to take the heavy bridal crown off. She is hungry and he leaves to bring her food. Now that has to jog some memories.
Could this be another Minglan trope? Just like a FL who has a lousy Stepmom, but a wonderful loving Grandmother. Oh well, I think I have made my point, this drama is worth watching -- even for 40 episodes.
After her performances in Under the Queen's Umbrella, Love Your Enemy and her award performance in My Lonely Sister, Oh Yeju has to be in mix for the FL in the Princess Hours Reboot. Now of course there will be big competition with this, and she may not get it, but don't be surprised if she does. The same holds true with Moon Sangmin and Hong Minki who produced massive chemistry with her. Here is her as Crown Princess in Under the Queen's Umbrella: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/on-twitter--653233120972225139/
Of course a good romcom needs many things to be a hit. Good directing and writing the script are very important. But visuals in this genre vital. This drama has that in spades. Lee Sung Kung at 35 still stuns and Han Ji-Hyun lights up the screen. But then we come to Oh Yeju who just turned 21. People might quibble with me, but there is no one who has better visuals than her. Since she is not as well known with her career just taking off and because her MDL picture doesn't do her justice, I will post this link of her: https://x.com/oh_yeju/status/1981721214130233720/photo/1
The Love Your Enemy effect has continued for actress Oh Yeju. 2026 is going to be a big year for her. She and Ryn Da in are cast as the FL's in Awakening with Lee Jun Hyuk as the ML. Just about 10 days ago she was officially cast as one of the three sisters, Lee Sung Kyung and Han Ji Hyun are her elder sisters, in, In My Brilliant Season. And finally she was seen filming as a cast member for Esom's and Yoo Yeon Seok's drama Law Firm of Shinyirang. One more female lead role for 2026 would be a nice round number of 4 dramas.
How in the world is this only getting an 8 rating? So far it is the best action/thriller kdrama I have seen in a long, long, long time. The story is reverting and the acting is superlative. Sometimes the mdl ratings for the first couple of episodes are just ridiculous. However most of the time it balances out overtime. In any event, this is a great start to a kdrama.
Here is a quote from the article announcing Han Ji Hyun and Oh Yeju, "Han Ji-hyun plays Song Ha-young, a designer at Nana Atelier. She and Lee Sung-kyung, who plays Nana Atelier's chief designer Song Ha-ran, form a trio of sisters and will be central to the drama. Oh Ye-joo will play the youngest of the three sisters, high school student Song Ha-dam. " It sounds like all three sisters are central to the cast. Just wondering where it says that Han Ji-hyun (who I really like) and Oh Yeju is a supporting cast member. It certainly wasn't in the article.
Ryu Da In is in talks to join in a lead role according to her agency where she would play the role of Ye Jinhttps://m.entertain.naver.com/home/article/421/0008514278https://m.entertain.naver.com/now/article/015/0005191382
I love this news. It helps to lock in the drama because they are actually pursuing a cast. Further you have the whole spectrum of visuals -- Lee Jun Hyuk with late 30's visuals. Ryu Da comes rocking in with mid twenties visuals. And as for Oh Yeju she is nothing but a 20 year old visual chemistry queen. I look forward to more cast announcements.
2026 is turning into quite the year for this beautiful and talented actress. First we hear that she has a supporting role in Law Firm of Shinyirang. Then the word drops that she been cast as the FL in Awakening. Finally this morning we read that she is going to be the youngest of the three sisters in the drama In Your brilliant Season. Shall we go for a fourth drama?
Oh Yeju, the teenage Jiwon just was announced as the FL in Awakening which will air on SBC's Friday/Saturday prime time spot. The male lead is Lee Jun Hyuk.
When she was 18 Oh Yeju had her first supporting role in Under The Queen's Umbrella. She was the romantic interest for Moon Sangman and their chemistry lite up the screen. I believe that played a role in the catapulting of his career. Then in 2024 she and Hong Minji, even though Jung Yu Mi and Ju Ji Hoon are great, stole the show with their chemistry. In short, she is a 20 year old chemistry queen.
In this drama Lee Jun Hyuk is a little too old. So that means that there should be another role coming out providing the romantic chemistry in this drama -- a school mate who can comfort her as she hears the voices. If these acting agencies are smart, I believe that there is a long line of young Korean actors who will be vying as Oh Yeju's romantic interest in this Friday/Saturday SBC drama.
According to Kdrama Casting, among others, Oh Yeju will be the female lead in upcoming SBS drama Awakening! The male lead in the cast is Lee Jun Hyuk. Congrats to Oh Yeju!! It is about time.
You might want to check the meaning of the word "raunchy", because it doesn't mean whatever you think…
MWH, this is my last post to you. Your claim that religious people don't do any critical thinking is laughable and reveals a deep ignorance grounded in prejudice which is nothing but a prison for the mind. Perhaps you should remember that in a dialogue belittling another person views is nothing more than revealing your smallness of mind. It is obvious that you have created a "straw dog" about folks like me. Because of that there is no use even talking anymore. Take care.
There are lots of haters out there who are carping about her acting. Yet I believe that she is something else in this role. She has managed to keep the fine line between her little girl, pixie aura and this on fire angel of passion. He Yu has the good boy gone bad aura down pat. In fact, I believe his cigarette lighter moves was better than Chen Feiyu in Lighter and Princess. And his sultry looks are powerful. But it is the sweet little fire angel who burns him down and melts him to mush. That artfully done passion is why this drama continues to be popular.
Then there is implied incest nonsense. Yes, as little children they believed they were real siblings. But they are now adults who have been separated for years and they know that there is no biological connection! Who can forget the mother yelling to Mu Mu that is not her brother. Seems clear to me. How inane to claim that there is something dirty or immoral going on here.
Now about the director. Again I don't know much about him, except for for one thing. With apples, strawberries, and grapes he is an expert.
With our FL there is no romance curve. Rather it is a rocket. She falls in love with our ML totally, completely, and emotionally at first sight. If she can't have him she will have no one else. She will just wait for her next life because she has faith she will instantly recognize him there. Yet, things are slower for our ML. We have the above mentioned girl back home. And he has a complicated life. But when his friends confront him to face his feelings and dangle the possibility of arranging another groom for her he realizes that he loves her completely.
And so we come to our slow, wonderful drawn out confession scene. We viewers have waited for it for over 20 episodes and it is worth the weight. First we deal with the love triangle that never was. But then we have our future groom only dealing with Father. And then he finally comes to her room and he finds the door slammed shut. He then reads to her the boring confession letter in best scholarly voice. Door slammed again. And then she finally appears. In no way will she settle for a marriage born out of obligation (she has only saved his life twice). If he can't give himself to her, heart, body and soul, then forget it, she will just wait for their next life. With a blazing eye she tells him she did not understand one word in his erudite, boring letter. "Tell me what do I mean to you!!" And then he opens up. "You are the most important person in my life! What do you mean to can be said in just a few words, "You are etched in my heart." She had waited years for that and I shed a tear.
And then we have the wedding. I am a wholehearted, hardcore fan of the Story of Minglan. And dramas that pay homage to it gain big bonus points with me. You can't help but be reminded of the procession of Gu Ting Ye. When Gu Ping walks into the bridal chamber she asks him to take the heavy bridal crown off. She is hungry and he leaves to bring her food. Now that has to jog some memories.
Could this be another Minglan trope? Just like a FL who has a lousy Stepmom, but a wonderful loving Grandmother. Oh well, I think I have made my point, this drama is worth watching -- even for 40 episodes.
In this drama Lee Jun Hyuk is a little too old. So that means that there should be another role coming out providing the romantic chemistry in this drama -- a school mate who can comfort her as she hears the voices. If these acting agencies are smart, I believe that there is a long line of young Korean actors who will be vying as Oh Yeju's romantic interest in this Friday/Saturday SBC drama.