I agree with you, this novel is pretty much carbon copy of the novel, INCLUDING pacing. I've been told the novel…
As I said earlier, I don't mind the romance especially because the leads have got good chemistry but if I had to choose between romance and world building in a show like this, I prefer they work on world building. It's the same thing in a police procedural. If I had to pick between a tightly plotted intriguing mystery and a romance, no prizes guessing which one will win out. Again, romance isn't needed to humanise Ye Liuxi. Being with other people in the team and experiencing life and death moments with them can do that just as well. Or more efficiently.
Ultimately the issue rests on the writer's skill and how well they are able to combine the genres.
I agree with you, this novel is pretty much carbon copy of the novel, INCLUDING pacing. I've been told the novel…
I suspected that the show was just pretty much doing a scene by scene of the novel. It feels like it. Thanks for confirming it for me. :D
When I say the romance isn't necessary what I mean is that if there were no romance between Chang Dong and Ye Liuxi, it wouldn't make a single difference to their character arcs or to the plot itself. They could be a platonic duo and still achieve the same things together leading the team. In Bai Yu's previous drama with Yang Mi for instance, the romance is kind of important because it changes him and makes him a doctor with better bedside manners. Here the leads are already smart, strong, and they command other people's respect.
I really like the leads and I'm not just talking about the Cheng Yi and Zhang Yuxi chemistry. The way they are handling obstacles to their relationships and difficulties shows deep mutual commitment. They both seemed determined about staying together.
I'm sorry about Grandma but honestly there's no point in postponing the bad news. Sooner or later she has to find out about her condition. Ultimately too it is her choice too whether she accepts treatment. She may not want to because of her age. In fact in some countries, younger people who are put on the waiting list for transplants are prioritized over the elderly.
I suppose Ruanruan and Xizhou is meant to serve as a contrast. Two people who got into marriage IMO for all the wrong reasons. It's a trainwreck waiting to happen. They aren't really committed to the relationship because they come to it with so much baggage. Xizhou wants her dad's support. She's been after him all of her youth and adult life. It was the thrill of the chase and the prize she wanted. But now that she's got him, it feels like the shiny toy she's been wanting is not the prince she thought he was. She wants him essentially to be like what Fu Yunshen is to Zhu Jiu. Attentive, thoughtful and someone who prioritizes her fully. She wants him to be that guy but he isn't. She wanted him to change for her but he wouldn't because he didn't love her. Xizhou never had to do the hard work of pursuing her so he doesn't value her as much. He assumes (consciously or unconsciously) that she will stay with him no matter what because she has been on his case for years. She did all the heavy lifting. He has no emotional investment in their relationship because it was handed to him on a platter. For a relationship to work both parties need to be equally invested otherwise it will wither and die. He has no good role models. However, although Yunshen doesn't have good role models either, he learnt the right thing from the failure of his parents' marriage. When there's an imbalance in priorities and no emotional investment from one side, it usually ends in tears.
As someone who has watched much k-noir in my days, does this bring something new to the table (so far)? I am worried…
Unless you watch it, you're not going to know how you feel about it. For me at least the wife knowing the mob boss from their childhood days while the husband goes undercover seems like a different approach.
He likes her and is waiting for his opportunity incase things don't work out between Yushen and ZJ.
Don't disagree. That is just a sorry pathetic motive to be around a woman. To live in hope that something bad happens to her so you can step in and be her saviour.
I want to know what Dr Ji is doing back in Shanghai working in the same hospital as her. Is he trying his luck? Does she somehow remind him of his ex? It's rather stalkery to my mind the way he's always around.
I love Park Sung-hoon's detective character here. But there's no doubt that Yoon Kye-sang is putting in a fantastic performance. The show takes a turn for the better at the end of Episode 4.
I actually like the romance bit and don't find it detrimental to the plot or pacing. Their love for each other…
It's not to me about liking or disliking the romance. I like it although it isn't actually necessary to the big story but what the script does is slow down the narrative building in other areas. I just don't think the integration between the romance and the adventure side of things is as cohesive as it could be. The characters are interesting, the backdrop is certainly a selling point but all the moving parts feel like they're grinding towards something.
Commenters here are wondering why this show isn't as popular as it should be considering its unique premise and I'm offering a reason. What the show does is certainly interesting but it doesn't have broad appeal. Why is that despite the fact that the romance is such a key component? It has to be some aspect of the storytelling that's not working. The show is covering a lot of lore. A lot -- almost an entire history of a country but it takes 10 episodes for them to get to the other side after puzzling through where the gateway is. I realise they are only half hour episodes but it still feels really long.
At the end of the day we know that this is about them stretching things out to 40 episodes or thereabouts.
about protagonist you said he wanting to look a bit better in front of his in-laws for wife's sake it's bit look…
If we consider what the storyline is indicating, Junmo wasn't that interested at first but when he thought about his wife and her family he changed his mind. And if you consider the terms and conditions that he negotiated, it was about promotion -- two ranks and he didn't care about the money. An idealist would have jumped at the chance and rejected the terms outright. He's not one and frankly this is far more sophisticated characterization consistent with a gangland drama.
The first episode was good and a decent character set-up for the male leads. The backdrop and the motivations are clearly laid out so I'm looking forward to how these agendas play out in the rest of the show. It's definitely a historical piece with the chosen palette as well as the amount of smoking that goes on. What I particularly like about the set-up is that the antagonist could be the protagonist in his own tragic story. Like The Godfather. He's sick of being treated like rubbish. He has ambition and smarts to make it happen. He commands genuine loyalty that goes back to his school days. Moreover, the protagonist although something of the typical loose cannon is motivated not really by ideals of justice but wanting to look a bit better in front of his in-laws for his wife's sake. That's potentially very interesting in terms of his character arc.
Initially I thought the wife wasn't really necessary but as the episode progressed it occurred to me that she's there not so much as to set up some obligatory love triangle but to act as his lifeline. I suspect that she's included so that he doesn't get completely consumed by the undercover persona. She will be, I'm guessing, his conscience. A reminder to him why he's there in order that he doesn't completely lose his way. I also think that her purpose in the narrative is to flesh out Jung Gi-cheul as the mob boss -- to give him that extra layer, to humanize him so that he isn't some kind of cartoon villain. But the lovely thing always about Wi Ha-jun is that he always projects a certain vulnerability no matter how badass he is.
That staring contest at the end is rather good. This is a collaboration that I'm hyped up to see a lot more of.
I like this show a lot but I think it suffers from a lot of the problems that beset C dramas. It's not just the pacing but a lot of time is spent building on the romance to the detriment of the world building. Personally I think the storytelling would have been better juxtaposing the two worlds from the start rather than relying on these exposition dumps that no one is going to remember a day or two later. In a fantasy show the world building is king. It is always better to show rather than tell.
For me at least the show would have been more efficiently told if we had Jin Han and Co. make their appearance a lot sooner and interplay that with the Chang Dong and Ye Liuxi angle.
4 
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/my-dearest-2023-episodes-7-10
Ultimately the issue rests on the writer's skill and how well they are able to combine the genres.
When I say the romance isn't necessary what I mean is that if there were no romance between Chang Dong and Ye Liuxi, it wouldn't make a single difference to their character arcs or to the plot itself. They could be a platonic duo and still achieve the same things together leading the team. In Bai Yu's previous drama with Yang Mi for instance, the romance is kind of important because it changes him and makes him a doctor with better bedside manners. Here the leads are already smart, strong, and they command other people's respect.
I'm sorry about Grandma but honestly there's no point in postponing the bad news. Sooner or later she has to find out about her condition. Ultimately too it is her choice too whether she accepts treatment. She may not want to because of her age. In fact in some countries, younger people who are put on the waiting list for transplants are prioritized over the elderly.
I suppose Ruanruan and Xizhou is meant to serve as a contrast. Two people who got into marriage IMO for all the wrong reasons. It's a trainwreck waiting to happen. They aren't really committed to the relationship because they come to it with so much baggage. Xizhou wants her dad's support. She's been after him all of her youth and adult life. It was the thrill of the chase and the prize she wanted. But now that she's got him, it feels like the shiny toy she's been wanting is not the prince she thought he was. She wants him essentially to be like what Fu Yunshen is to Zhu Jiu. Attentive, thoughtful and someone who prioritizes her fully. She wants him to be that guy but he isn't. She wanted him to change for her but he wouldn't because he didn't love her. Xizhou never had to do the hard work of pursuing her so he doesn't value her as much. He assumes (consciously or unconsciously) that she will stay with him no matter what because she has been on his case for years. She did all the heavy lifting. He has no emotional investment in their relationship because it was handed to him on a platter. For a relationship to work both parties need to be equally invested otherwise it will wither and die. He has no good role models. However, although Yunshen doesn't have good role models either, he learnt the right thing from the failure of his parents' marriage. When there's an imbalance in priorities and no emotional investment from one side, it usually ends in tears.
For me at least the wife knowing the mob boss from their childhood days while the husband goes undercover seems like a different approach.
The show takes a turn for the better at the end of Episode 4.
Commenters here are wondering why this show isn't as popular as it should be considering its unique premise and I'm offering a reason. What the show does is certainly interesting but it doesn't have broad appeal. Why is that despite the fact that the romance is such a key component? It has to be some aspect of the storytelling that's not working. The show is covering a lot of lore. A lot -- almost an entire history of a country but it takes 10 episodes for them to get to the other side after puzzling through where the gateway is. I realise they are only half hour episodes but it still feels really long.
At the end of the day we know that this is about them stretching things out to 40 episodes or thereabouts.
Initially I thought the wife wasn't really necessary but as the episode progressed it occurred to me that she's there not so much as to set up some obligatory love triangle but to act as his lifeline. I suspect that she's included so that he doesn't get completely consumed by the undercover persona. She will be, I'm guessing, his conscience. A reminder to him why he's there in order that he doesn't completely lose his way. I also think that her purpose in the narrative is to flesh out Jung Gi-cheul as the mob boss -- to give him that extra layer, to humanize him so that he isn't some kind of cartoon villain. But the lovely thing always about Wi Ha-jun is that he always projects a certain vulnerability no matter how badass he is.
That staring contest at the end is rather good. This is a collaboration that I'm hyped up to see a lot more of.
For me at least the show would have been more efficiently told if we had Jin Han and Co. make their appearance a lot sooner and interplay that with the Chang Dong and Ye Liuxi angle.