Platinum Fox

Good, then the drama did it's job. You were meant to feel that cringe as Hidden Love is a social commentary on the age of consent in China. The age of consent is 14. The writers wanted you think about this pairing. In the novel Sang Zhi is 13 and he is 20/21.

This drama is a social commentary on the subject of responsibility. In ancient times and even the present, Chinese culture has held the belief that if the father does something wrong, the rest of the family will be implicated as well. The mother promised JY's mother that DJX would take care of JY for the rest of his life. The implication is that he would marry her. Arranged marriages still happen in China, but it is becoming more prevalent to marry for love.

Sang Zhi gives DJX a way out as he doesn't love JY and as MIkaM explains so beautifully JY doesn't love him either. She is just really insecure and lashes out really at everyone as she can't get over the death of her father. This is why Sang Zhi says to JY's friend take her to counseling. Help her get over the death of her father. DJX is not responsible for what his father did, but he is the one who loses the most as both of his parents die due to this one incident.

Thank MikaM! Happy drama watching.

MikaM explains this really well in the post below: I have copied her post

After accident, DJX and his mother went to JY's family asking for forgiveness. His mother knelt and made a promise that she and her son not only will pay the compensation but they will take care of her for the rest of their lives
In high school years, JY gave me "if I suffer, you should suffer, too" vibes. The way she treated him give the other the opportunity to bully him. It is known that society treat the entire family as criminal and she didnt make any effort to ease that situation for him
During time, her atitude changed she became a stalker, sent him tons of messages, looking for him everywhere, saying he is her bf (that's what SZ's boss knew, his ex colleague knew-airport scene). His mother got sick and died after she worked hard (2 jobs) to pay the compensation. DJX worked also hard, had several jobs during Uni. JY felt she has all the rights to "own" him, even after the compensation was paid, she thought she has the right to punish him over and over again, his debts to her would never end
DJX ask forgiven to his mom, saying he cant fulfill her promise, his only fault was he's his father son. he never take actions against the stalker who tried always to ruin his life (not even she went to his company making a big fuss). He had nothing to lose till the point he fell for SZ and knowing JY hurt her, he realized she is a danger for the person he loves. Then broke the promise his mom made and faced JY telling her he will protect SZ at all costs.
Imo, JY never loved him, she just wanted to control him, made him unhappy, wanted to see him being miserable. In fact, she never forgave him for being his father's son, son of the man who killed her father.

You are talking about Noble Consort Miao. She was not the empress. She wanted to be the empress and even attached herself to the crown prince, but the emperor refused to make her the empress. She is killed after a rumor is spread to the emperor by Duke Qi and Zhuang Shi Yang that she was trying to over throw the emperor which wasn't true.

ZHY was going to kill the consort as a last resort and implicate the family. However, she was not heartless because when the two of them agreed to get married they wrote a letter of divorce, so that neither one's family would be implicated in each other's crimes. Fu's family would have survived it.

When the two of them agreed to get married, both of them wrote a letter of divorce in case one or the other committed a crime that would implicate the whole family. The FL may be ruthless, but she would not commit a crime and then allow his family to suffer for it. Her goal is to only punish the Zhuang the father. She didn't want to hurt the other members of the family.

Now the mother of the female lead wanted to execute the entire Zhuang family which is why she told the guards that the father was the adopted son of Pei (which he is).

There was nothing in the drama about anyone trying to kill off the empress, unless it comes in the last two episodes. Now, there is a consort who dies who wanted to be empress, but she didn't kill the empress to get the position. She died because of Duke Qi and Zhuang Shi Yang. So I am not really sure what you are referring to.

The female lead's goal is to get revenge on her father for using her as a pawn, killing her mother, and sending her out the family. She only wants him dead.

Thus why they both wrote a letter of divorce, so that neither of their crimes would implicate the other's family.

Thank you for your post. You made me want to read the source material as I could not understand where people are getting that DJX is a red flag male. However, after reading eight chapters of Hidden Love, I understand. In the novel he is 20/21 and she is 13 (still considered a child according to Chinese law). In the novel he does things that even I would consider red flag behavior, so I understand your concern for the drama. But as you can see in the drama he is not a red flag male.

First, thank you for the friend request and the compliment. I am humbled and I understand your meaning behind it. But I didn't write that response to the poster, I wrote it to all the viewers who felt that cringe feeling at the beginning of the drama and didn't know what to think about it and were afraid to ask here for fear of being attacked. See Shichi's comment below.

This is a forum, a place to discuss the drama the positive and the negative. This drama brings up some very uncomfortable topics, pedophilia and grooming. It was meant to with the age of consent being 14 in China. How do you change something if you don't talk about it. For me, every parent should require their children to watch this drama in any country and talk about these issues.

I actually have to thank the two posters above as they made me read eight chapters of the source material. I understand now where the original poster would get pedophilia as in the novel Sang Zhi is 13 (still a child according to Chinese law) and DJX is 20/21. In the novel he flirts with her, caresses her hair, gives her gifts, and Sang Zhi starts to have feelings for him. She does call him ge ge, but there is a dark undertone. For me, DJX is a red flag, but only in the novel. As we know he is a very green flag male in the drama.

It has taken me two years to fully understand this drama. At first I wrote it off as a fluffy, simple love story and would have rated it a one because it added nothing new to the genre. However, I had lots of questions after watching it. The biggest one was why she spoke like a child and acted like a child throughout most of the drama. I found my answer in the novel The End of Eternity. This drama is a modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. It is a cautionary tale as not every guy/girl is a green flag person.

Again, thank you for the friend request and compliment. Happy drama watching. It is funny that you mentioned Goblin. Posters have also talked about grooming in that one as well. But when I write about it I will write about it on that forum.

Thank you for your thoughts on Hidden Love. I will not attack you for it. Many viewers have felt that cringe feeling when she is 14 and he is 19 just as you did and that is okay. This is intentional by the writers as this is a social commentary on the age of consent law in China. While most countries consider 14 year olds to still be children, Chinese law states that minors 14 years of age are physically and mentally ready to consent to sex with anyone above the age of 14 including 19, 22, and 50 year olds. So for Sang Zhi and DJX to meet while she is 14 is very appropriate. DJX and Sang Zhi could have engaged in a sexual relationship when she is 14, but DJX, being the green flag guy that he is, doesn't have any feelings like that for her at that time. In fact the two meet twice in two days and then literally do not see each other for the next three years. Now, when she turns 17 and he is 22, that is a different story. There have been many discussions about DJX and Sang Zhi at this time. Again, he does not have sex with her at this age, and for most viewers DJX doesn't even have those kinds of feelings for her. He does not have sex with her until she is 19 and he is 23. Because of the age of consent law and the fact that they both wait until she is 19 to carry on a sexual relationship, leaves the accusation of DJX being a pedophile completely unfounded.

The people of China are working hard to get the law changed to the age of 16. This drama is trying to combat this very uncomfortable topic.

https://88tangeatdrinkread.wordpress.com/2020/02/21/secretly-secretly-but-unable-to-hide-it-%e5%81%b7%e5%81%b7%e8%97%8f%e4%b8%8d%e4%bd%8f-by-zhu-yi-%e7%ab%b9%e5%b7%b2-table-of-content/

Yes, look under Hidden Love Discussions in the Recent Discussions category.

If you notice certain things become trends. The use of a fan or umbrella now in dramas was made popular by The Double. However, there are many older dramas who use the same effect. The lifting of the umbrella to introduce the character was done in A Female Student Arrives at the Imperial College. Also, the diving through windows was used.

Did you notice in The Double the scene where one of Duke Su's bodyguards does a rolling martial arts move over a carriage? It is taken straight out of this drama. Also, the characters diving through windows!

One of the writers stated she wanted to make a drama where the women actually helped each other rather than tore each other apart. She feels women help each other more than hurt each other in real life.

Yes, he is given a concubine by Prince Ning. The girl is Prince Ning's adopted god daughter. She is there to spy on JCY.

This is an investigation story. There is hardly any palace politics. It is mainly the revenge of a daughter against her father. The romance is little to nonexistent, especially if you are looking for hugs and kisses.

If you are looking for a light, fluffy comedy romance, this is not it. The focus of this drama is on revenge. The main couple in fact hate each other much of the drama, but learn to love each other in the end.

I understand. You see Hidden Love as a fluffy, simple love story when in reality it is not. There is more to the story that most viewers do not see. Their relationship has more depth than you think. DJX did not fall for her out of the blue as you say. He actually has loved her since she was 17, he just didn't know it, nor wanted to admit it. Some people have said that Hidden Love is about grooming and that DJX is even a pedophile. However, according to Chinese law (the age of consent), he is not. Hidden Love is actually a social commentary on the age of consent law in China which creates a story with more depth than the than the light, fluffy story people think it is.

It's okay that you like The First Frost more. I just wanted to clarify that Hidden Love is not what you think it is.

I think the reason they didn't focus so much on his trauma was because his was out in the open. People knew his father had killed someone and tried to commit suicide and also that his mother had passed away from cancer. Even though the students were not so nice about it, the teachers I am sure supported him. This kid had already suffered enough and people were well aware of his trauma and supported him, especially the Sang family even before Sang Zhi met him. His trauma was feeling as though no one would love him, and he was trapped in a promise that his mom made to JY's family. When Sang Zhi comes along and gives him a way out of both of these traumas he healed pretty quickly.

On the other hand, Yi Fan's trauma is more on the inside. No one but the immediate family knew about the sexual assault and they tried to hide it. You can hide a sexual assault better than someone killing another person. It is not as out in the open. She runs to Yihe from Nanwa (DJX runs to Nanwa from Yihe). Her trauma is more emotional and the only thing she could do to find closure is taking the uncle to court, but there will always be a part of her asking whether she did something to provoke the uncle. Whereas with DJX, he is in no way responsible for his dad's behavior. He is a victim like his mother.

I understand what you are saying, but I think the two traumas are very different. Also, the focus of Hidden Love was on the love part not the trauma. For me, The First Frost was suppose to be Sang Yan's story, but it really ended up being about Yi Fan.

deepti, I can tell that people viewing this show are not used to other actors playing the same role and do not understand the rules when this happens. I can also tell that the director didn't have much experience in this area either. The screenwriter, on the other hand, did, as he created dialogue that the original Sang Yan character would have said. The screenwriter understood the essence of Sang Yan's character that was portrayed in Hidden Love and what most viewers understood Sang Yan to be (whether that is his true self or not). There is nothing wrong with the way either drama portrayed the character as we are getting two sides to Sang Yan. This makes him a dynamic character rather than a static one.

You're right BJT had the harder job as he must not only be a romantic guy, but he also had to be a brother to Sang Zhi in order for us to believe that he is Sang Yan. What some of us are saying is that BJT nailed the romantic side of Sang Yan, but for whatever reason, the director chose to downplay the loud, goofy, fun Sang Yan that viewers knew and loved. Also, being the more experienced drama actor, BJT should have been able to make this happen when he had a comedic line to deliver, but his delivery was flat and his mannerisms didn't match what we knew Sang Yan to be.

Also, please don't say that singers and rappers aren't actors. They act every time they get up on stage. That's why many of them go into acting when they quit singing. Good singers can transfer that acting skill into their works.

Thank you for the discussion and happy drama watching.