Eleison

As far as a favorite, it's hard to say. The Nirvana in Fire seasons I really liked almost in their entirety, but Season 1 (it really is an incredible script) is quite slow, and not for anyone who likes a plot with lots of exciting events; it's ponderous, subtle, nuanced and beautiful. Other dramas I usually have some things I LOVE and other things I have some gripes about, so none that I would say are perfect and completely enjoyable from beginning to end.

The dramas I suggested sound similar to what you like, I think, for the most part; I think we have similar taste there.

(Horses have 100% died in these dramas; the angles some of them are falling would require them to be put down, most likely; their necks are twisting unnatural directions and some are flipped onto their backs... horses can't be in those positions and function afterwards). Some horses can be taught to fall, actually, but you can tell these horses aren't trained for that. An opening sequence in Who Rules The World had a shot that made me gasp out loud as I watched, it was so bad. 🫣 I definitely have more qualms supporting Chinese production companies over Korean ones since they don't seem to have as good of laws to protect people and animals, but some of the content IS good, so I'm muscling through it for now.

Anyway, take a look at some of those dramas--they're great.:)

So I've officially decided that all the old ladies are insufferable. 😅

Also, Li Hai Chao is a GEM (and he's the only good parent in this drama; the rest are on a scale from dysfunctional to crazy-controlling to a complete wreck. 😰 So many self-decieved parents who are blind to their egos and either selfishly controlling their kids in the name of "the child's good" or just selfishly abandoning them 😳).

Why does Viki say this is 40 episodes, but MDL says 46? 🤔 Is Viki missing some episodes?

Okay, so this says horror in the main tags; how so? The description makes it sound like it's set in a historical time period, but I have yet to see a Cdrama that's historical (at best, I've seen pseudo-historical). Is it set up like "realistic" supernatural stuff set in our (the "real") world, or is it supernatural as in fantasy and in a clearly fictional world inspired by historical Chinese settings?

Ohhh, their past connection was spicier than I anticipated! 😅

I totally understand why she's annoyed with him for "forgetting"! (And why she thinks he's a "sleazebag" at this point). Because this is a Kdrama; there is of course a reason behind all the misunderstandings. I'm looking forward to seeing how they'll explain this one away. 😉

P.S. I liked the expression An Ju Hyeong made as she walked up the first time (cause he 100% recognized her) that said: "Ah... no, no, no...
I'm toast." 😅

Yeah, they should be a bit more suspicious as lawyers, yes? The drama showed that they definitely weren't walking in with their eyes closed, but something will most likely be off and it seems they fell for it. The landlord has a story in there somewhere, and more ulterior motives, I think.

It's definitely giving slice of life vibes! And reminds me of Resident Playbook vibes and friend group dynamics (haven't seen HP).

Under The Microscope also has the actor who played Fan Xian's friend who dies at the beginning of JoL, and he's great. He has a great arc, and you'll like him. Don't get scared off by the math jargon--it's not as bad or as much as it appears! 😅

I haven't! But I've seen it mentioned. I'll consider it! Dream of Splendor was quite good, too.

That's happened for me a bit, too, but I realized it's because I watched all the famous Kdramas first (because they were the ones consistently recommended and that had good ratings as I got started on my Kdrama watching journey, haha, and now I only come across really good ones every now and then because... I've seen most of them already), and now I'm doing the same with Cdramas (starting with the highly rated ones; Cdramas are really pumped out so it will take a long time to make my way through them; I just find the values of Chinese culture harder to access than Korean culture; it's less westernized and more of a learning curve. I still can't get into xianxia, either. I think it's too... abusive? Everyone suffers so much, it just seems gratuitous, almost slightly voyeuristic and just so agonizing. I haven't been able to stomach it).

And while Korea clearly values image and beauty and places lots of pressure on their actors (more than I'd like), China feels even worse to me that way; in most dramas, there's nary a hair out of place and everything is made to look PERFECT and sometimes it's unsettling (I liked Under The Microscope and Reset because they feel much more down to earth and people in it (and the world they're a part of) feel more real). They also treat horses badly in the costume dramas and don't seem to have laws like the U.S. and Europe have now for the treatment of animals, and it just makes ke worry for the actors, that they're not overworked. 😬

Joy Of Life is very good! I just wanted to see Fan Xian be the cat instead of the mouse (I liked Season 1 a bit better than 2, though I loked the part in the middle with him and Wuzhu breaking into the palace). By the end of Season 2 he's still getting caught in the king's and CPP's traps.

Zhang Ruoyun is a great actor, though. Have you seen Under The Microscope? He's great in that, too.

Cdramas recently do seem to be landing better than Kdramas, but when it's a good Kdrama, it's very good. There's just something about them that I prefer over Cdramas if I had the choice. I do enjoy the massive scale of costume Cdramas, though. Sageuks can't get anywhere close to the scale and scope of a costume Cdrama (they have Hengdian to thank for that!), so costume Kdramas feel a bit low stakes in comparison to costume Cdramas.

Haven't gotten into as many modern Cdramas. Prefer Modern Kdramas to modern Cdramas (when the Kdramas land, of course 😅).

It got super low ratings at first and didn't hit the trendin list like I expected to which is why I missed it at first!

So, they're really dating? Would be interesting to see them star opposite each other. I just don't picture them together! 😅

LJS has definitely opted for a delicate (not fragile), beautiful look rather than hunky and traditionally masculine (he's also just built that way: tall, lanky, and slight). I got used to his unique features pretty quickly, like I eventually got used to Zhao Lusi's voice. 😅

You get past it to enjoy what great actors they are. LJS always does a great job with his roles (imo)! He has historically picked great scripts/projects (or his agency does--whoever decides these things has done a great job!). Curious to see if he has another one in the bag! 😏

It certainly reminds me a bit of Resident Playbook (haven't seen HP yet). It's feeling kind of slice of life, like a Reply drama or something similar, with lots of scenes with friends together bantering and doing life together (with work peppered in here and there). 😉

Same! He did right by her every time. I think that's why people liked him with the stepmother, because their scenes were actually interesting to watch. The FL's scenes were just him saving her all the time and trying to help her discover the world (not as interesting).

I would say it's the second main plot, and does drive much of the story and action forward (but more as a plot device than because it's the purpose of the drama).

This is one instance where I agree with those who say JCW did have better chemistry with the FL's mom. 😅 That's not to say I rooted for them, but the FL is just written very flat and damsel-y.

😅