Michelle Topham

Mo Li was a much better title, IMO. But, many times, the English-language title is poor compared to the Chinese title. They also never ask English-language-speaking natives if a title makes sense, which is why we get silly titles like A League of Nobleman, and The Love Last Two Minds :)

Mo Li is the perfect description of what is likely to be the leads' extremely powerful collaboration. It should have been kept at that, IMO, as The First Jasmine is bland and dull.

Didn't notice the shots of Bai Lu sitting alone, so thanks for that :) And yep on the maid not being hungry and her age. From the first minute she arrived on screen, she looked far too young to me, as well as just "not in keeping" with everything else that's going on around her.

Ignore them. Almost every drama, when it first starts, is always massively downrated by idiots wasting their lives being nasty and who aren't even usually watching the drama. You'd think they'd do something more productive with their finite time on this planet, but you can't fix stupid :)

The ratings always go back up when people who ARE watching it, and rating it fairly, start rating.

For instance, I just rated it about 30 seconds ago and gave it a preliminary 10/10. That rating may go down for me, depending on what happens in future episodes but, so far, IMO, everything about this one is superb.

It was pretty obvious right from the first time the maid appeared, IMO, that she was pretending she was there to make herself feel better. No maid would sleep in her mistress's bed like that, especially in a royal palace, and she only arrives when nobody else is around.

It's beyond stupid, isn't it? Tried to watch a contemporary romance drama on YT this week, because I couldn't find it legally anywhere else. Gave up after Episode 1 when half the conversation disappeared during some of it as they kept removing the music. Then the episode ended with the ENDING THEME sounding like it had been run through a meat grinder, as they had distorted it to hide how it sounded.

Either include the music, or don't expect me to watch it.

So.. I found it on a bootleg/non-legal site (same one you use, I think :), all the music completely intact. Watched it there instead :)

Holy Sheeyut, I've only watched Episode 1 so far, but that was a BANGER!!

Gorgeous color palette, a fast-paced plot that really pulls you in, and it's looking like Bai Lu and Cheng Lei will be a fabulous pairing. And Ye Gods, she's gorgeous in this!

Was looking forward to this but, so far, it's even better than I expected. So happy at least Ep 1 didn't disappoint :)

Dropped this two episodes before it ends, which I never do. Literal garbage from Episode 25 onwards, but hits a new peak of stupidity at Episode 30. Life is too short to waste one more second on amateurish, ridiculously bad writing.

Blocked. So damn sick of the vile conspiracy theorists going on and on about someone who has just died, and whose death they know nothing about, while his family is still in the absolute worst stages of grief. It's disgusting. And so are you.

Just block and move on. I block anyone who is so vile and insane they're posting conspiracy theories about any actor's death. It's sick beyond anything, and shows a lot about that person's own mental health. Or lack thereof.

Hahahahaha, laughed all the way through reading this :), and yep, you nailed it.

Like I said, a truly fascinating culture and, weirdly, in 15 years living in Asia, the ONLY major Asian country I did not visit, except to transfer thru a Japanese airport about 97 times (maybe my trauma with the Japanese ex-boyfriend put me off??!!) ROTFL

(Honestly, though, everyone I know who has visited (not lived in) Japan has absolutely LOVED it).

And yep on the former housekeeper. To a westerner, that was so weird "I'm just going to go into a nursing home to die quietly. Don't worry about it" and, like you said, even weirder that both the MLs just nodded acceptance about it afterwards, as if that's normal. In any western country, and in many other Asian countries, NOT normal at all :)

It's interesting seeing the differences in Asian cultures in dramas, though, as I think many westerners just think "Asian -- all one culture". NOPE.

For instance, I don't know a single Thai, and I know thousands (not exaggerating) , who would EVER allow anyone they know to move into a nursing home if there was ANY alternative.

Hell, I've had Thais that I wasn't particularly close to say I could live with them and their family if I ever had health problems, and my best friend, who is Thai, is convinced I'll be living with her and her husband when I'm in my 70s. :)

It's just a given in Thailand when it comes to older people who don't have extended family close by.

Apparently, not in Japan though. (And it's not, I do know that). Although, something about this is going to have to change, as almost 30% of Japanese are now over 65. (Yep, it's a super-aging society!)

Cultural differences, eh??!! :)

Currently watching Episode 14 and struck by, not only every actor's performance being mesmerizing, but Cheng Yi putting all those pretty-boys-with-minimal acting skills to shame with his quiet but immense talent. Absolutely superb drama. Beautifully written, spectacularly acted. Not a poor performance in it.

Not for me? Currently watching it on YOUKU, and Ep 3 is in Mandarin, as are all the preceding and following episodes.

Every time I start a new episode, if I go away and come back later, the new episode is weirdly in Vietnamese, with a female AI dubbing all the parts 🤣. But it switches back tho the minute I go into the settings and click Mandarin. Maybe try that again if you're still having problems?

Whenever I watch a Japanese romance drama, I'm always reminded about what a truly repressive society Japan has always been. (I have several friends who lived in Japan but left because they couldn't stand the thought repression that is a "norm" in Japanese life, as people are expected to "go with the flow" instead of be individualistic).

It's all on show here, as nobody really says anything about what they're truly feeling, including mother to son and son to mother, or lover to lover (notice how, the minute any kind of conflict might occur in this episode, Azuma just up and left), so misunderstandings happen often. Even in the closest of relationships. Until Kuji made an instant decision and asked Azuma to go somewhere with him there and then. If he hadn't have done, though, the misunderstanding would have continued, as it's not like anyone would have talked it through.

It's an interesting culture to view from afar, and loving this drama immensely, but it's not a country I could ever live in. Especially as I briefly dated a Japanese guy when I lived in Bangkok and, yep, same opinion and thought repression I just couldn't take :)

Why are you always such an idiot? Every response you give on MDL is like a 5-year-old's. No wonder half of the website already has you blocked.

I like Chen Du Ling. Hated Veil of Shadows, dropped it at about Episode 7, but she was amazing in it. This drama is garbage, so I'm supposed to keep watching it to PROVE to some rando on the Internet like you that I don't hate Chen Du Ling? Grow up.

Anyway, moving on and leaving this mess of a drama behind me. Have fun if it's your thing. :)

Blocked. Don't have patience with someone who's wasting my time with stupidity.

Seen you here before, but you're apparently not too bright, as saying "Bye" every time someone doesn't like a drama one of your "faves" stars is the best response you always come up with. Something 100 million people have said before you, and they apparently thought it was "cute" too.

How sad to be this unintelligent and unimaginative. But... here we are :)

Let me know when they change her voice dubber as she becomes older -- ROTFL.

If it's garbage, it's garbage. And this is garbage from Episode 1. Nothing in this is worth watching, and I like both Chen Du Ling and Zhou Yi Ran and was looking forward to this (well, until I read the plot synopsis and saw who one of the writers was).

Sadly, all my fears were realized by the end of Episode 1. NO need to watch further. Rated a 5/10 as, if a drama is THIS bad with its first episode, there is little hope of a recovery.

Holy Sheeyut, this is horrible. I LAUGHED the whole way thru the first episodes, as everything about this is amateurish. Sure, it's an idol drama, but it's one of the worst I've seen yet. (Then again, it is Yang Long directing, so probably expected :)

Not even one episode in, and Chen Du Ling's terrible dubbing, that makes the character sound like she's 12-years-old, has grated on my last nerve.

The voice dubbing doesn't match the mouth movement, her acting, and others, is overly-dramatic and amateurish, even the fight scenes are not remotely believable as you can see the choreography SCREAMING "look at ME!!!!" from a mile away, as the actors smoothly go through their paces.

The bland music doesn't remotel fit the scenes (hugely dramatic music when she's arguing with her father is fit for an epic battle scene instead of the scene its musically illusyrating), and the writing is dismal.

Well.. that was an easy drop. Onwards and upwards... ROTFL.

She also sounds like she's 12 years old. I barely finished Ep 1 and it's an easy drop for me. So sick of supposedly strong women in Chinese dramas sounding like children. I just can't anymore.