MadelineMaureen

someone who's read the novel.......

I keep forgetting that Mike and Esther worked together before as a couple. and what is it her 4th or 5th drama with Fei Qi Ming? This set must have been chill as hell.

Are you able to see previews past episode 16 already?

All I can think about is some PA having to either spray him down between each take or them having to use some sort of glycerin product(think lip gloss) to keep the "sweat" look through multiple takes. Sometimes oil is used sometimes just a spray bottle with good old H2O. Cause even if He Yu was naturally sweating during filming they would want to make sure that it remains consistent and esthetic for each take.
Also probably why he's always in either sleeveless shirts or wearing a loose jacket. Sweat = sexy...pit stains = brother eeewwww(meme). Same with a lot of the characters.

You're very welcome. if you ever need a genre recommendation that you know ive seen(just look at my watched lists) I should be able to help. I have my categorized lists private or I would just direct you toward that page.

3rd share holder of Li Wu(ML)'s company & the employee who muttered about Li Wu not wanting to shortcut the coding. aka the two fragile male egos in the office.

I just calculated my personal rating & it came out to 7.57stars so 53÷70. I rate 14 different categories on a 5star scale. 3 5stars, 9 4stars, 2 3stars.
everyone rates differently but I wanted to give a tangible answer to your potential concern.
Acting was high, but overall set design, & consistent cinematography was on the lower side at 3s.
So nothing was very low over all but it might seem like it to someone who doesn't rate all the bits and bobs that go into an overall production.

seriously this plot is making me feel ill. I want to speed run through it to the other side.

ep 26 vague spoilers.
I knew those two were snakes the moment their characters entered the show. im stressing tf out right now

Say less. Had to get out my laptop for this one to pull up my drama lists and your drama list to make sure I wasn't recking ones you've already seen or dropped. it's going to be in a weird order...apologies. I know i'm missing some I've seen, but it's been so long since I watched someone of these please take the recommendation with a grain of salt. I tried not to suggest too many of the "bullying bad boy" but that was a major trope back in the day....and a lot of the real "bad boys" die at the end of their stories so....yeah, I've separated those from the others with labels. I left out a lot of the rich ML poor FL aka BoF/Heirs etc cause they aren't bad boys just assholes.

Okay this is going classic classic...Devil Beside You...Taiwanese 2005: bad boy who blackmails FL in to doing tasks for him with a love letter she wrote to her crush becomes her new step-brother. I remember they had good chemistry, but the audio was not great. It's been over a decade since I watched this one but I'll still recommend it. Came up in a reel recently so it's been on my mind.

Best Mistake (Korean) short web drama about high schooler bad boy falls for the good girl. not too heavy 15, 15minute episodes. There is a second season. Not the full vibe you're looking for but a nice palette cleanser. bit of the bully/teasing but it's 15 minutes

Classic KTraumas: These all have sad endings...you have been warned
'Temptation of Wolves'(the OG the Mac Daddy of references. If for anything else watch this because it is THE most referenced movie in kdramas)
'One Fine Day'(step siblings, can barely remember this one but Gong Yoo bad boy)
'I'm Sorry, I Love You'
'Tree of Heaven'(also step siblings, he becomes a member of a gang this is a very PG Japan-Korea co-broadcast you will cry)
'A Love to Kill' (Rain & Shin Min-ah...great OST....I still call an actor in this Lamppost to this day, sorry Ki Woo...you are just Lamppost in this house)

Shut-up Flower Boy Band(Korean): haven't watched it in a very long time so it might be a bit cringe but I remember liking the music. Teenage rock band lead singer lives on the opposite roof of the new girl he has a crush on and goes to school with.

Tempted(Korean) based off of the French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses aka Dangerous Liaisons(translation/movie) aka Cruel Intentions(American movie) it's okay, but you'll recognize the whole cast and it never truly gets as spicy as the source material would suggest. It was a meh watch for me to be honest, but ultimate bad boy good girl story. Can't for the life of me remember how they ended the show so potential ktrauma.

The Prisoner of Beauty(Chinese period enemies to lovers) very very good drama. More enemies to lovers than "bad boy" but similar vein of dark aura vs wholesome sweet. Also height difference is differencing.

When Destiny Brings the Demon (Chinese fantasy period timeslip/transmigration) very very kiss heavy...one of my favorites from the past year in the genre. If you want to try and give Arthur Chen another shot.

L♥DK & it's sequel L♥DK: Two Lovers Under One Roof (Japanese movies light fast watches high school age.)

Love's in Sight(Japanese Show): Yankee(type of style choice/think delinquent) falls in love with a sweet blind girl. also called 'Yankee-kun and White Cain Girl' if you need to look it up on another platform.

Your Eyes Tell (Japanese movie) based on the Korean Movie 'Always'(also recommend)

As I know Esther's vocal range I want her to be able to flex it a bit. And with the overall vibe of the show she could use that to her advantage. I haven't read the novel so I going based on a different perspective than if I knew the character's whole personality from start to finish.
There's nothing wrong with a cute voice, I just think that she could literally spin all of them on their heads if she pulled out her serious voice. If her character ever becomes the true pursuer of ML in trying to seduce him of something or turn the tables on him I know Esther has that in her back pocket.
What I'm getting at is, I know Esther's range as a performer, and I'm hoping that this character lets her explore more of that range in this drama as there is going to be an age/time shift. She is criminally under rated as an actress because she is pretty and has a sweet voice people generally dismiss her performance and miss the subtlety of her performances and think she's only gotten where she is because she's pretty and not because she is, in fact, extremely talented.

oh totally same. im living in dululu land 99% of the time. it's when I had to explain the plot to my co-worker that my brain went...wait a damn minute. I just wish during one of the flash backs they could have shown the parents arguing about ML & the FL over hears & THAT's when she finds out...before they get separated the first time. no more than 30seconds needed. As ML has always known they arent related, but cared about her safety, wellbeing, education, more than the parents his portrayal was never an issue for me. I really liked how the little sister clocked Mu destroying the water heater to get him to come home. it was like this silent understanding of, I know what you're doing, but im not mad about it...but I am watching you. Mu's attention seeking is normal behavior.
if im right there is going to be another time jump & I really hope Esther will switch back and forth between her "sweet" voice & her more mature voice. Mainly because its one thing to do that voice for friends, family & loved ones, not very common to be using that sweet voice with complete strangers. im overlooking it for the most part because she's playing 19ish and a bit naive. I think this role is meaty enough for her to show off her skills as a voice actress & performer even more.

she's a lying liar who lies. she also said the AC didnt work and that the water heater "broke". until they show us a different scene of her finding out she found out 7 hours before he picked her up from the airport.

there are two directors listed, so I'm not sure who shot watch exactly, but I can guess just based off of past shows. She has the more esthetic vibes with lighting and framing. His past dramas are all hit or miss. Everyone Loves Me and Love Song In Winter were both big disappointments for me, but I couldn't tell if it was the writing only or if the direction had something to do with it.
I think she's behind the super colorful shots and the more romantic camera language shots imo. As there was also a main director listed on Forbidden Flower like this one. So she co-directs. I need someone in with the inside scoop on who did what.

I love that her mother doesn't clock the 2 tooth brushes side by side, and the 2 very different vibe hand towels side by side that she dries her hands with, but she clocks the facial cleanser "for men" that was turned away from her ma'am...wtf

The Forbidden Flower is the same writer-director so that would be the closest esthetic vibe wise.
EDIT: also if you want to see the ML in the opposite seat, younger brother-older sister My Fated Boy. Though that budget was...very small so not the same artistic style as this show but kind of cute to see him as more of the Esther character in this.

If you don't mind age gap romance, Sniper Butterfly(ending today) is an "older sister" "younger brother" type relationship. They only really get to know each other when he's in his late teens. but the age gap in the show is 11 years and she does act as his guardian for a bit of the show. Writing this all out makes it weirder than it was for me to watch it. He idolizes her from the moment they meet, she was oblivious until his twenties. Second chance romance time jumping back and forth.

I think it was the less than one business day after learning he isn't her blood related brother and we are getting slow pans from her POV of sweat dripping down his body that probably shook some people. Also the wet dream after maybe a month after learning he isn't her blood related brother.
I think, and this is just a guess, it has to do with the fact that for, I believe 18 years, she was under the impression that he was her blood related sibling. As in, shares both parents and it took one sentence from mom and less than 2 days in his presence for the narrative to switch to romantic pursuit.
So camera language as well as action all point to reuniting with a romantic crush NOT a long lost sibling. I think if the direction would have toned that down a bit or IDK have her learn at 9 years old instead of 18/19 that they aren't related by both parents....yeah...i'm sticking with the 18 years of thinking they share a large part of their DNA. Also the fact that he was more her parent in her first 9 years of life than her mother and father were also has been brought up/shown multiple times.

As long as people go in knowing they are in for a WATTPAD of a story shot like a MV with really beautiful people, they should be fine. Bless all the people who went into this completely blind and got hit with that plot right from the jump.
(I yap to my co-worker about the shows I watch. Trying to explain this plot was...wild. Breaking down the scenes and timeline really brings out the WTF is happening moments into stark relief. Am I enjoying the show? Yes...but it's more like a guilty pleasure. Will I continue to watch this? YES EVERY DAMN EPISODE. But I am not blind to why people would have issue with this show.)

PS. in Go Ahead, they meet when they are young but are never under the impression they share the same DNA. It's shown early on in the show(like the first episode) that ML sees FL as a girl and not sibling and really never has seen her as a sibling, but as a saving grace and light in his life. 2ML was the one to confuse familial love for romantic love, but it is quickly sorted out. FL is oblivious to romantic love. She doesn't even really think about it much because she's had no examples in her life to go off of.
Go Ahead's issues lie in it's weak(lack of fleshing out) portrayal of the ML's trauma when it comes to his abusive relationship with his mother, and the lack of medical intervention for his mental health and codependence on the FL.
In conclusion I think it has to do with one show showing hesitation when roles change/evolve and the other jumping into the deep end without barely blinking.

thank you!

wait is he a narc? what was that meeting at the end of episode 5?