Eleison

"A score like that usually transcends genres and personal biases unless a person is completely close-minded." My experience of comment threads on other highly rated dramas is similar to the comment thread on LR, which is a mix of mostly praise and some critics. (Though, to be fair, LR finished airing fairly recently, and the hot debates around it will take months to die down, so it's harder to get an accurate read on a drama directly after it airs (in my experience).) There are ALWAYS critics, so my experience is no drama transcends genres or personal biases, and there will always be people whose tastes differ. That said, your comment I quoted above I would only agree with if several years' distance is added to the equation. If it's been three or four years since it aired and it still has above a 9 paired with a high popularity ranking (meaning it has 100,000+ people who've rated it), the drama is indeed something special.

Some of your points remind me of arguments I've heard about voter fraud during elections whenever people don't like who won. I suppose there could be manipulation, but such accusations are easy to make, and harder to prove. I wholeheartedly believe people are messed up enough to rig ratings (or elections), but again, whether it's happening to the extent people claim is, I think, quite difficult to determine beyond a shadow of a doubt. Also, most people who do reviews do so because they have REALLY strong feelings one way or the other, but still many who enjoy shows will never write reviews but will rate them (like me), and that could also be another explanation for what has happened here to confuse you? 🤷‍♀️

Feel free to move forward distrusting MDL ratings and calibrate your research accordingly, but claims such as yours are above my "pay grade" (and my knowledge of technology), and have not applied to my experience so far, and don't adversely affect my research on this site yet.

I imagine with time the rating will be ironed out if indeed manipulation of some sort has taken place. Time will tell. If the rabid fangirls have been actively rigging the ratings since it finished airing, eventually they will move on and the ratings will plunge as you suspect. Personally, I also don't think it will maintain a 9.1 rating, but I think it will stay in the mid to high 8s at the very least, which, if it ends up getting over 100,000 viewers, means it's still dearly loved or enjoyed by many who see it. This is also why I'll usually wait some time to watch super highly rated dramas in order to let the dust settle and get more even perspectives as people calm down, but I watched this while it was airing, so I found myself riding the wave as it was happening. 😂

While I'm not sold on your claims, and don't agree with your assessment of MDL, I appreciate you taking the time to explain why you think this way. 👍

I also like it when knowledgeable, articulate, reasonable fans camp in certain drama comment threads and become consultants for the drama, if you will. 😂

For instance, @Taliatoo helped answer my questions about The Double (still struggling to get into Cdramas), and I ended up loving it. All her advice, insights, posts and takes on the drama were incisive and accurate and totally helped me know what to expect; thanks to her, it delivered on my expectations.

It's fun when you come across people with thoughtful opinions who aren't merely tunnel vision fangirls or killjoy trolls. 😂 MDL at its finest!

I'm not sure our tastes are always the same regarding other dramas, but I've agreed with all your thoughts on LR! :)

Yes! Maybe I'm also just not super picky or I'm simply easy to please (though I almost always agree with dramas rated in the 7s in that they're rarely good enough for me to finish, or if I do, I'm skipping stuff like crazy; if I don't agree with the 7s rating, that's usually where the popularity rating comes in for me, because dramas with low ratings (in the 7s) but high popularity rankings and viewership I generally still enjoy (aka like BOFs)), but I also curate my choices carefully.

When I do my research well I can usually have a pretty good sense for whether a drama is worth my time/if I will enjoy it before I start it, and only a few times have come across doozies after researching (the research usually pays off!). I tend to make most of my mistakes when I choose to start a drama while it's airing and it ends up being weaker/worse than I hoped as it progresses. Sometimes it's worth it to push through an ultimately mediocre or just so-so airing drama to discuss it with people along the way. :)

Yeah, I looked up an interview because I wanted to know if his raspy gangster/Batman voice was his actual voice or not (it seems like it is!), but then I was more surprised to see how timid and shy he was. 😂

For an extra dose of DRAMA, of course! 😋

Also, I think IMDB might actually reflect similar trends to MDL, but it tends to have harsher ratings in general, like something on here in the 8s or 9s would be in the 6s or 7s on IMDB. (Kinda like how Viki will be even more inflated than MDL (like something in the low 8s on MDL will be in the low 9s on Viki, etc.)), but I think you might see similar patterns if you track drama ratings on different platforms and compare them against each other. I also wonder if a large majority of MDL users are women? Not that that would change things necessarily, but it might mean you'll get higher ratings on MDL for rom-coms than IMDB which might have more of a mix of men and women. 🤷‍♀️ Just some thoughts!

Unfortunately, a lot of people seem to like him primarily for his looks, but he did act well in this, I think (much better than Cha Eun Woo in True Beauty, in my opinion, which is a very similar feel to this drama). I don't think all of BWS's performances have been equal. But his range reminds me of actors like Nam Joo Hyuk or Lee Min Ho (hit and miss, acting-wise) for instance, NJH was super good in Weightlifting Fairy, but not as strong in other dramas (Start-Up, School 2015, The Bride of Haebak, etc.). BWS's no Kim Soo Hyun, who's rock-solid and garnishes consistent praise from a huge majority of fans, but he's very lovable and well-suited for a role in this. :)

I agree with @ponnu, I would venture to say most people liked it for the chemistry of the leads over the plot.The plot is very Kdrama-like and in many ways follows the typical romance formula (e.g. they get together in Episode 8, have some "we can't be together" angst later on but of course they manage to overcome that; cute and adorable (and sometimes silly and ridiculous) scenes together, a little love triangle, funny side characters, (even the newer tell-tale murderer/serial killer side-plot insertion 😅), etc. to name a few common rom-com formula elements); it has fairly decent pacing, a decent number of plot holes and suspension of disbelief required (like most Kdramas, in my experience), an adorably corny but decent script--all of which could have been tighter and better, of course.

But the leads were so cute and the story/plot/writing were solid enough that they didn't keep you from enjoying the leads together and I think that's why people liked it. And the humor is part and parcel with Kdrama rom-coms; there's nothing super different here. If you want tight Kdrama writing I would not suggest fantasy Kdramas or rom-coms. This is a fluffy, sweet, decently paced drama with super strong chemistry from the leads and lovable side characters.

The rating will be probably drop a bit over time, but I think it's very similar to a drama like Strong Woman Do Bong Soon in a lot of ways, and will be similarly beloved after time goes by for similar reasons. SWDBS has a lot of weak points, plot holes, and comedic whiplash, but it's dearly beloved despite its flaws; it's also not everyone's cup of tea, as is true of this drama. So, anyway, my two cents. :) Bummer you didn't enjoy it as much as you hoped to!

Interesting. I've never seen a drama with a rating of 8.7 or above on MDL I didn't like. I guess that just means my tastes align more with the hoi polloi of MDL? 💁‍♀️

I was confused why he was listed as a main, because he really had a small part compared to Duke Su and Shen Yurong. And his character, while sweet, was just so much less interesting and developed than the other two guys.

Yes, I picked up on most of that! I did like the thread of her teaching him different types of things as the more knowledgeable, older and more experienced person in the relationship. It was clever, subtle and playful.

Oh, thank you!

Also, I'll just mention that in the clip you shared, they played the duet that recurred throughout the drama, and what I thought was interesting is that I rarely hear OSTs with a duet with a man and woman, and I liked that touch because this drama in particular has the two leads working together in a really unique way (like some sort of mental dance). Don't know what they're singing about, haha, but that alone I thought was a nice touch for the OST as a backdrop for the drama's premise.

Oh yes, that was darling. Probably what the fans wanted for the 2nd half of Episode 40; at least the director came around, haha!

Thanks for finding that for me!

I didn't see it on Viki. :( And I couldn't find it on YouTube, either. Will Netflix have it when it finishes releasing all the episodes?

Yes! But the background music (which is my favorite part of the score) is never available on Spotify, which is a tragedy. 😭

I also enjoyed the chat! I love deep dive discussions. :)

Also, I finally finished it and stopped at the place in Episode 40 you recommended, and loved it! Thanks for the recommendation, you described it accurately and gave me appropriate expectations for what I'd see; I was not disappointed! ☺️

???

Okay, I lied, but they had such small roles I didn't recognize them here.

Never seen these leads in anything before. Huh!