DramaAjumma

I understood what you said and all I was commenting on was that the number of years living in country doesn't equate to proficiency in a language. My point is that there are other factors unrelated to time spent in a particular location. Frequent use of the lingua franca is very important.
I've been teaching English for two decades now and I've seen all kinds of results depending on affective factors.

Yes dear. You may be entitled to your opinions but not your own facts. What you said was a distortion of the facts about the characters.
I wouldn't have said anything if you were just giving your opinion but you are advising potential viewers not to watch it based on wrong information. It's fine not to like a show or its characters but at least get your facts straight. That's all I'm saying.

His pronunciation is not bad actually. At least he sounds like someone who has actually lived overseas before.
There are usually a number of factors that contribute to the acquisition of near-native/native like pronunciation. Did he speak much English outside the home? And at school, was he hanging around with native speakers and using English? I've known people who've lived in Australia for years and don't speak English that well. Or at all.

I don't dislike it or find it boring per se. I just don't understand the love... is where I'm at. There are things about it that I like but there are things that make me cringe badly. The humour in large part doesn't work for me and it feels glaringly contrived. However, after all the nuttiness there are these more serious and quiet moments between the leads that keeps me watching.

Still I haven't met a contract relationship that I don't like yet. The male lead falling first and fast is always an added attraction.

Not exactly his finest hour.

I really didn't like the first 40 minutes of Episode 5. Didn't care for the petulance either.

It's hard to believe you actually watched the drama especially when you wrongly identified both male leads.

While it might go some way in explaining the schizophrenia that was the last act, it still doesn't entirely excuse the director from his role in the final product. It shouldn't be all on the writers because he is just as responsible (or more so) for the butchery that resulted.

I'm glad though that the Cnets made enough noise to cause the crew to issue mea culpas. It might just be a tv show on some level but there needs to be standards or some kind of quality control.

I wish they would stop with the "will they won't they" with the leads already. Now it's become "will they won't they consummate". They're destined to have babies anyhow.

Helping him to put on his robe is the most wifely thing she's done so far.

I honestly don't mind the food porn.

Let's hope this one ends better than Cupid's Kitchen. That was a dog's breakfast.

For me this is one of the better shows that I've seen in the first quarter of 2022. It's well-written, well-produced and the acting can't be faulted. Since watching my first K cop show about a decade ago, it is heartening to see the quality of police procedurals coming out of SK going from strength to strength in all that time. Thankfully this is one of those landmarks. I've enjoyed this one from start to finish and certainly the second half exceeds the first. I particularly appreciate the documentary-like historical exploration of two men's battle to legitimize profiling as an investigative tool to advance policing in South Korea. One man had the vision, the other had the natural knack for making the connections. Pioneers always do it tough but their persistence pays off as they steadily gain respect from their colleagues for the groundbreaking work that they do. A highlight for me is watching an unusually supportive duo of supervisors who go to bat for their subordinates despite their own misgivings. What also impressed me was the debriefing and feedback session after the arrest and prosecution of one of the featured killers. I don't remember the last time I saw this level of professionalism from one of these SK police procedurals about how effective their existing procedures were.

It is clear from the series that criminal profiling is one tool in a very large tool box. It acts as a confirmatory instrument especially in cases where there aren't any clear motives. Profiling doesn't replace more traditional aspects of policing like canvassing, using technology like surveillance cameras, drawing on current knowledge of biology and chemistry as well as interrogations. It serves as a companion to all of those which is a far more realistic application of its efficacy. The drama also notes that a knowledge of profiling was able to enhance the quality of interrogations without resorting to police brutality which marred the work of previous generations.

The journey was never an easy one for the men involved. Staring in the face of relentless evil would take its toll. But then someone has to take out the trash so that the house is liveable. So what kept them going? A strong sense of duty. Not just to the dead but also to those left behind. To give them answers that they desperately need.

In reality many if not most serial killers were caught because of their own mistakes and overreach. Profiling is just a tool in the tool box. Cops still have to do all the leg work. I think it's clear that it's especially useful when interrogating suspects and eliciting confessions rather than being the chief mechanism behind catching culprits. From what we saw here it also did away the need for police brutality and extreme draconian forms of interrogation techniques.

This is probably a far more realistic exploration of criminal profiling than let's say something like Criminal Minds.

The OP probably means Episode 27

I blame him somewhat for leading Yuehua down the slippery slope. Yes, she's responsible for her choices and she's on the arrogant side but he helped set her on that path.

It's called shifting alliances so there are no fixed factions in this situation. People change friends/allies like they change socks and underwear. People align themselves with various royals according to the need of the moment. This is the case because most people here are opportunistic. There are people who are playing more than one side for a longer game. Most do what they have to do in the name of "survival".

Go Mum!
It was fun watching the current empress manoeuvre her way to making Zijin the new concubine second only to primary consort. I mean why not? If Zijin wants to meddle in palace politics this much, why not have a front row seat and actually have some real power to do some real good especially for the women in the palace. The reality is that Zijin is someone who can't sit still and be a docile palace maid. Already she thinks of herself as some kind of advocate for women's rights so the truth is that the kitchen is already too small for her. Plus her hand will take some time to heal.

To her credit, the empress can see that Zijin would make Zhanji a good wife. She's really not like the others. Plus Zhanji actually likes her. This is a wise mother who knows her son and actually wants the best for the family. From his flower metaphor, she can tell that despite what he says, he is in love with Zijin and that his rejection of her is in effect an indication of how much he loves her. She's an intelligent, perceptive woman that has the bigger picture in mind. Besides all that she knows she's doing both of them a favour.

I think Zhanji is a wonderful male lead who wants to show unconditional love to the woman he loves by letting her have her freedom in as much as that's possible. I also think he wants a willing wife that is sincere towards him. He hasn't had much luck in that department. Having said that, neither of them have the luxury of choice in that regard. On a practical level, he needs her more than he realises and if she wants to accomplish her goals, she needs him too. While she's resigned herself to her fate, she also knows that this change in status can be used for good. Reform of any kind is possible and it depends on who calls the shots.

A case in point. After Zijin makes a case in front of the emperor for reversing the verdict on female members of families of those who had committed acts of treason, for example. We have a rare recorded harmonious moment between the emperor and empress afterwards. The emperor has done a lot of good and he actually cares about his subjects but as he says, he can't think of everything. It is up to the people around him to be bold and open-minded enough to broach difficult subjects with him. Those who understand his heart will do it in such a way that will not intimidate or undermine his authority but help him to see that it is really what he wants or consistent with his own broader agenda.

This is one of the things I like about this drama (aside from the food porn and Xu Kai's understated performance) and it's that power is a privilege and a gift to be used responsibly. Talents are bestowed on individuals for the good of many not just for bragging rights. There's an expression in the New Testament -- where much is given, much is expected. That's why I like Zhu Zhanji in general because he doesn't feel bound by his position despite all the external impositions. But he uses his authority to optimize the outcomes in any given situation. With Zijin, because he is in love with her, his normally pragmatic sensibility goes a bit wobbly. He can't or isn't willing to make the same demands on her that he does elsewhere even though he knows deep down that she's absolutely the perfect woman for him in every way.

My husband watches them with me occasionally. Whenever I think something's up his alley.

Thanks with much gratitude. I can get by with my level of Mandarin but when they start quoting classic texts and poetry... it's rough.

I wouldn't mind reading what the writers' explanation was but I don't see how that dog's breakfast of an ending was any kind of fan servicing at all. A real fan service would see the pair and Mdm Jin off travelling the country, Liang Yi and Qiu Yan collaborating on their first book together, getting published and then maybe a pregnancy. I don't need a wedding but at least that would be more logical than what we got instead.

Is this why C dramaland keeps giving us these nonsensical resolutions? Because they think a nasty twist followed by a noble idiocy separation trope is what viewers want in the last 15 minutes of a drama? Really?

This is why I loathe the twist and the noble idiotic follow-up to it because it does open up interpretations of Qiu Yan's character in all kinds of negative directions. I'm not sure why the showrunners didn't understand the cynical ramifications of the ending. I think your conclusion here is quite valid in light of the twist and follow-up.