Eleison

I definitely think the actor playing He Ziqiu was more engaging and more experienced as an actor.

Do you mean when do they start dating/seeing each other romantically?

Everyone certainly was pretty humanized in this, for sure! They gave everyone a story. That didn't mean they excused everyone's behavior, but they all felt real and there were reasons for everything they did.

But I did feel squirmy when Ling Xiao started pursuing Jian Jian; I was disappointed by how he went about it, because all three siblings/friends had the most adorable dynamic; then, out of nowhere, he got all possessive and clingy and pushing her into stuff and saying things like "I'll sink into darkness if you're not with me" (where's the guy running with the red flag across the field? 😳 That's what I felt like doing at these parts that were portrayed as romantic and I just wanted to scream to Jian Jian, "Beware! Warning!"). What made it less 😬 was that she did want to be with him and was able to look past it to his pain and the source, but what if she hadn't been (and relationships are not mechanisms for fixing or being fixed; they don't work that way)?

I keep coming across these types of MLs in modern Cdramas, and I don't know why they write this behavior as acceptable and romantic (these types of MLs stopped being written in Kdramas 5+ years ago). *sigh* Thankfully it didn't last long, but it kind of ruined the usual cuteness of the MC getting together.

So much to love about this, though, overall.

The trailer feels similar to the vibe of the first two episodes, from what I observed?

😅😅😅 So true!

I find there are even different types of slice of life, but if you research you can differentiate them. Like after watching My Mister (which was very good but not my cup of tea), I figured dramas like Our Blues wouldn't be my thing, so I avoided it. Racket Boys is slice of life, too, but a different vibe from My Mister and totally my jam... Anyway, there are so many resources available to determine if a drama will be a good fit. Start there at least!

I still sometimes watch dramas I can't finish because even after research it wasn't my thing, but it's not super common.

One of my all time favorites. :)

I found myself looking forward to those parts, cause that's where the convos happen. ☺️

You must skip all the scenes in Kdramas where they eat ramen, then. 😅

Yep, agreed; they're called GENRES and deliver different stuff. It's not too hard to research which genre you're diving into so you can calibrate expectations accordingly. 😊

I have ten episodes left, and there's a lot I love about this.

But let's be real, He Ping didn't raise anyone. He just squeezed his son into his life when he managed to get off work, which was almost never.

Li Haichao, though? He's most certainly the hero of this drama. Love him to bits. Such a darling human!

Still curious to see if this will give me an equivalent gut punch to Reply 1988 at the end, as it's a very similar type of drama.

He's a wonderful actor! Can nail comedy and serious/emotional roles. I think he was primarily seen as a comedic actor/ML before this drama; IC showcased his acting chops in the melodramatic sphere, and affirmed he can do it all. I was so bummed he didn't win the Baeksang he got nominated for (in the Best Actor category).

I have to disagree; I fell in love with the music (but most specifically the BGMs, though the OST was good, too), and it sold me on the drama. I thought it supported the story beautifully and enhanced all the feels.

Sometimes I just go back and watch the scene in Episode 15 when Saeroyi meets his dad on the bridge in his dream.

It's such a beautiful scene, showcasing Saeroyi's shift from a focus on revenge to a focus on people, and the music is perfection (especially the joy-filled piano/guitar/strings version of the BGM track ("I Don't Mind That You Don't Feel The Same Way")). The unique arrangement of this track showcased in this scene is not on Spotify, so I can only enjoy it again if I rewatch the scene (which is also lovely in its own right).

The BGMs for this drama are still legendary in my book. Up there with some of the best among Kdramas!

Dong Ju needs some strategist coaching from the master, Mei Chang Su (from NIF) 😅

Then he'd get that villain lickety-split. 😉

8.9 is quite high on MDL! I'd say it's a VERY generous metric for this drama, and nothing to be disappointed by. It usually indicates the best of the best on this platform. 😉

Yeah, that whole part was honestly terribly written and presented--they couldn't think of a better way to make it more convincing? I kind of felt like my intelligence was being insulted. 😅

While overall highly enjoyable if you're not being nitpicky, this show had its fair share of considerably lazing writing, pacing and editing at times.

There are two key characters that die at the end, but neither is the ML or FL, just fyi. But one is a pretty beloved character, so prepare your heart. Some people were quite annoyed; I saw it coming, so it didn't bother me as much.

The notes were a brilliant touch! Favorite part of Episode 1. It made us look more carefully at the ML's tired demeanor to look for more under the surface.

It certainly makes it tougher if people over you don't care. But even if they do care, sometimes the system and the repetition and the social pressure is enough to be exhausting.

As an American, respect for the judicial process is in my bones, haha, but it can be manipulated by cunning minds much more easily than I'd like, and it's really quite frightening (and disappointing).