The first two episodes were outstanding, just pure entertainment from start to finish, and Park Sunghoon looks really hot. What more could you ask for?
I think everyone cheats. SJ promised he will give YZ some pointers when the time comes. And I think the back mountain…
GSJ told GYZ the poison he identified in YWS’s bottle was going to help GZY in the first trial, which is already a violation of confidentiality that gives GYZ an edge in the future, and smirked while chastising GYZ, obviously implying he would say more later on. He broke the rules and then wagged his finger at GYZ for wanting him to break the rules again, but the subtext of the scene was clear; he didn’t really give a shit about keeping the secret of the three trials and only ended the conversation about them because GYZ is unreliable and can’t be trusted to keep his mouth shut at this stage.
I guess some people enjoy their dynamic cos it's so dangerous (and frankly toxic). It's great in a fictional setting,…
But there’s no “toxic romance” here as the person you’re responding to is saying. There’s no vulnerability on her side to convince us she’s conflicted about what she’s doing in any way and on his side we have no idea if he’s actually falling for her, which would be stupid instead of romantic because she’s done nothing to deserve it, or putting on an act, which would be simply one of his schemes.
that’s even better in 2023! Tired of whitewashing of lgbtq + community and pushing their agenda to the every…
‘Mentally unstable gay villain in unrequited love with a straight person’ is already a cliche because it’s one of the only roles gay people have been allowed to play in media that isn’t brave enough to show actual homosexual acts.
The one with an agenda is you, the person outraged by the gay agenda who insists that we need more gay villains for equality. Your claim implies we’re already getting too many non-villainous gay people in kdramas, which is obvious nonsense... unless you think gay people often kill straight people who don't like them back and the media is silent about this phenomenon due to some homosexual conspiracy?
One of the best cdramas I've watched in ages. Very mature and true to life, with clear themes sustained throughout (keeping up appearances for the sake of meeting social expectations vs doing things because they make you happy, finding the right balance between giving and taking in a relationship, deciding on your priorities and living life consciously, etc.) and likeable and realistic characters.
Tang Ying did annoy me at times because she kept learning easy lessons—if you like someone, be honest with yourself about it; don't start something you can't finish with a powerful man in a position of authority over you while you're in love with someone else; there's more to life than work; etc.—the hard way, but the drama made me understand her and sympathise with her even when her tendency toward self-deception frustrated me.
It even made its most loathsome characters sympathetic. I mean Xu Jiabai, Xinzi's boyfriend-cum-stalker, whose desperation to keep Xinzi by his side was (rightly) depicted as scary and violent without dehumanising him, and Tang Ying's first boss, who was introduced as an abusive tyrant but was, again, humanised and sent off on a bittersweet note without dismissing the things she did to Tang Ying. Both characters were shown at their most vulnerable and I did momentarily ache for them and hope they could find peace and fulfilment in their lives without hurting other people.
(The one exception to this rule was Yu Chuanchuan, who turned into a bit of a sexist caricature by the end of the drama. I wish she could have been given a more nuanced and sympathetic treatment because her initial portrayal as Ziquan's cool female friend who liked him but respected his lack of interest in a relationship was promising. The drama could have shown her bewilderment and disappointment when he suddenly got a girlfriend and quit his lifestyle as an unrepentant playboy, and used her character to explore the private pain of realising that the person you like could meet someone else and rearrange their priorities completely in the blink of an eye, but they will never do it for you no matter how long you wait, without having her harass Ziquan and his girlfriend.)
Finally, the drama was the perfect length to wrap up the story without any boring filler. One of the issues I have with many romantic cdramas is that they lose focus and devolve into undigestible fluff and pointless side plots after the main couple get together, but here the small number of episodes ensured that there was only one arc after the main couple started dating and it was something sensible (learning to trust each other with their problems and insecurities and adjusting to each other's lives). I didn't get bored when they got together and neither did I get frustrated; their scenes were still cute and engaging and there were no major misunderstandings or last-minute soapy drama, but at the same time there were still issues to work out that created lingering tension.
Oh, and I did enjoy the side couples too. Tang Ying's boss was really cool and deserved the mature and supportive relationship she got, and Xinzi's final suitor was great. I really enjoyed her scenes with him, actually, and hope they'll stay together for a long time.
I dont like the subs on myasiantv and dramacool, they are missing words and its annoying to watch, is there someplace…
I find that annoying too, so I watch on kisskh.co, which has the full subs and always uploads them first. The only issue is that their video player doesn't mesh well with Safari and there are occasional freeze-frame issues, so use a different browser if your default browser is Safari.
Yay for crime/mystery thrillers involving people in their 40s! They're both talented actors and I really enjoyed Diary of a Prosecutor (though I hope/expect this drama will be darker in tone). Looking forward to this!
I just started ep. 9 and I love how Yun Wei Shan's idea of being helpful is recalling her own assassin training and going, "wow! what if you poisoned yourself so your core would always be cold? you'd be forced to learn very quickly then! hey, I can even make the poison for you!" and Gong Ziyu's reaction to this psycho suggestion is, "OK, let's do it! my wife is so smart and resourceful and perfect and cute! love her!" like maaaaaan, this is obviously not the thought process of a merchant's daughter, get it together!
absolutely right!! LIke GIRL is super gorgeous+ Fantastic acting+ intricate character is a recipe for me to hyper…
I could have sworn it was about to air this February/March when Deng Lun’s scandal broke, but you’re right that it was last year… Time flies so fast it’s scary.
I am currently at ep 4 and Xin Zi looks like a complete BIT*H character.
She gets better! I found her mind games and high-maintenance attitude annoying at first, but later on it becomes clear she's actually very principled in love (she gets mad at Tang Ying for flirting with a rich old man she doesn't like for her job, for example) and gives a lot of thought to what makes a relationship successful and how much one should give to their partner/how much it is okay to take from them.
The initial impression you get of her doesn't go away; it just becomes more complex as more sides of her personality are revealed. She's a pretty lifelike character IMO.
Gosh, Cheng Ke is the most pathetic character in this drama, and I'm including Xu Jiabai here. Not only does he impose on Tang Ying's time again and again, forcing her to keep rejecting him and coming back every time as if nothing happened and he didn't hear anything she said, but he also thinks he can neg her into dumping her boyfriend for him? He liked her better at 18? Gosh, I want to slap him so bad. MISTER, YOU’RE A SINGLE FATHER. GO TAKE CARE OF YOUR SON INSTEAD OF HARASSING UNAVAILABLE WOMEN LATE AT NIGHT! Like, seriously, shouldn't his young child take priority over chasing after women? I hate him.
1 
The one with an agenda is you, the person outraged by the gay agenda who insists that we need more gay villains for equality. Your claim implies we’re already getting too many non-villainous gay people in kdramas, which is obvious nonsense... unless you think gay people often kill straight people who don't like them back and the media is silent about this phenomenon due to some homosexual conspiracy?
Tang Ying did annoy me at times because she kept learning easy lessons—if you like someone, be honest with yourself about it; don't start something you can't finish with a powerful man in a position of authority over you while you're in love with someone else; there's more to life than work; etc.—the hard way, but the drama made me understand her and sympathise with her even when her tendency toward self-deception frustrated me.
It even made its most loathsome characters sympathetic. I mean Xu Jiabai, Xinzi's boyfriend-cum-stalker, whose desperation to keep Xinzi by his side was (rightly) depicted as scary and violent without dehumanising him, and Tang Ying's first boss, who was introduced as an abusive tyrant but was, again, humanised and sent off on a bittersweet note without dismissing the things she did to Tang Ying. Both characters were shown at their most vulnerable and I did momentarily ache for them and hope they could find peace and fulfilment in their lives without hurting other people.
(The one exception to this rule was Yu Chuanchuan, who turned into a bit of a sexist caricature by the end of the drama. I wish she could have been given a more nuanced and sympathetic treatment because her initial portrayal as Ziquan's cool female friend who liked him but respected his lack of interest in a relationship was promising. The drama could have shown her bewilderment and disappointment when he suddenly got a girlfriend and quit his lifestyle as an unrepentant playboy, and used her character to explore the private pain of realising that the person you like could meet someone else and rearrange their priorities completely in the blink of an eye, but they will never do it for you no matter how long you wait, without having her harass Ziquan and his girlfriend.)
Finally, the drama was the perfect length to wrap up the story without any boring filler. One of the issues I have with many romantic cdramas is that they lose focus and devolve into undigestible fluff and pointless side plots after the main couple get together, but here the small number of episodes ensured that there was only one arc after the main couple started dating and it was something sensible (learning to trust each other with their problems and insecurities and adjusting to each other's lives). I didn't get bored when they got together and neither did I get frustrated; their scenes were still cute and engaging and there were no major misunderstandings or last-minute soapy drama, but at the same time there were still issues to work out that created lingering tension.
Oh, and I did enjoy the side couples too. Tang Ying's boss was really cool and deserved the mature and supportive relationship she got, and Xinzi's final suitor was great. I really enjoyed her scenes with him, actually, and hope they'll stay together for a long time.
The initial impression you get of her doesn't go away; it just becomes more complex as more sides of her personality are revealed. She's a pretty lifelike character IMO.