1
Flora is the Problem and I Said What I Said!!
I'm sorry, I'm just gonna go into my review without caring or mincing my words, otherwise I don't see how else I can write this review seriously. I'd rather have Jigsaw have me dig in my ass with a razor to find some keys than rewatch this shit.
Now.......I never once thought men could be the prize in a relationship, so color me shocked when I found myself disliking the female lead more and more as the show progressed. Yes, she's good at her job. Yes, she's kind to her friends and colleagues. But when it comes to her as a person in a relationship.....oh brother. I finally understood the phrase "love is blind" because of her. I genuinely do not understand how Luke stands her.
More than the actress's poor acting and portrayal of the character, I think the character herself is just downright stupid. I kept trying to look at this from a different lens because maybe I was biased for some unknown reason. But no matter how much I tried to deflect and justify it, it all boils down to the same thing. I know people are gonna say, "Oh, she's a flawed character." NO. A flawed character is Xu Yan from Love's Ambition. Zheng Shu Yi from Only for Love is flawed. Even Luke is a flawed character with his family drama and overly bluntness. Flora is just dumb! She just constantly projects her bad energy on that man whenever stuff aint going her way!
I really wish they would've had her get some help to deal with her insecurity and severe indecisiveness instead of pushing them back together in the end. These are two people who want different things. The ML/Luke wants a hot, fiery "fling" without the label of a "real relationship"(This didn't last long though it started like that.) IDK, maybe due to his poor relationships with his father? And she/Flora?.....Well, she doesn't know what she wants.
She's a textbook case of what an insecure bird looks like, and I say this with as much gentleness as needed. It's not that she doesn't know HOW to communicate; she makes no effort to do so AT ALL.
I can't even describe their relationship as push and pull because, from the beginning, he clearly stated what he wanted and kept acting accordingly. I thought she also knew what she wanted, with her making it clear that they should be dating in secret, picking the days they would meet up, and even setting the terms of the relationship, only for her to constantly get upset when those exact terms were met.
For instance, she made a mistake and was scolded harshly, just like Luke would scold any other subordinate, and her ass starts crying? LIKE HELLO? And yes, I understand the whole pretext of a superior boyfriend giving leeway to his subordinate girlfriend, but that in itself is wrong, and based on what she said, she didn't want that either. Again, proving my point about her being disgustingly and annoyingly indecisive. If you don't want special treatment, then you can't reasonably expect him to suddenly treat you differently just because you're sleeping together.
Another example is her planning her New Year's holiday around spending time with her "friend" and roommate, knowing it'll fall on the weekend that's reserved for her rendezvous with Luke, and then getting upset over the flowers he "apparently" bought for Zang Yao. Like, I totally get you feeling out of place and "below" him because he's so "talented, handsome, rich, and high and mighty,"(he's not. he's fucking arrogant idiot) but come the fuck on. STAND UP!!!! She behave and sells herself cheap and surprise why that's all others can see....
You're brave enough to tell him he should let you know if he stops liking you or if he has someone else, but you're not brave enough to clearly ask what's going on between him and his friend???? Huh? make it make sense!
She's just completely unfair and hypocritical because when Luke told her that her flatmate liked her, she just blew him off as if it was just jealousy talk. She wouldn't and didn't even think to draw a line with Zhu to make Luke feel better. Instead they became even closer and were even going on dog walks together, but somehow Luke taking a photo with his childhood friend was enough to have her bawling for 40 nights and days. And everybody is blaming him for creating space to make his girlfriend feel threaten and insecure when she quite literally does the same thing; even worst than him. Atleast he very clearly states he's taken and draws a line. She just does whatever. Which I find so Very hypocritical.
Let's speak on their communication now. Due to how bad that shit was, they'll be fighting and going no-contact with each other, and then in the next scene you'll see her giving in to his advances even though she's pretending to refuse them. Like, gurl, again, STAND UP! You're embarrassing us women. Do you want the man or not? Why do you constantly have one foot in and the other one out? why are you being lukewarm then blaming others when you get hurt? You're constantly asking for the emotional security of a committed relationship while also agreeing to the limitations of a situationship, and then becoming upset when those limitations actually affect you. Very nonsense person
I think the ML has problems of his own, and I believe he's toxic to a certain degree. He's not some innocent victim who did everything right either. He's rude, obnoxious, and his bluntness can absolutely be hurtful, but I'm not sure (actually, I am.) he is to blame for how BAD the relationship played out. If we're going to be genuinely unbiased, he was there helping and looking out for her even through all her avoidance and unwarranted outbursts. Still, every issue that arose was out of sheer pettiness and her lack of ability to open her fucking mouth and be vocal about stuff.
I think most of the toxicity we're blaming Luke for stems from her lack of communication. Their conflicts were made worse by her refusal to communicate, but that doesn't mean Luke's behavior was always healthy either especially with how blunt he is.
Let's discuss his bluntness. Let's be clear and fair: I do not agree with his approach or how blunt he is, but in their case, she became attracted to him because he was strict and blunt. So it's extremely redundant to like a trait in someone and then expect them to change that specific trait because you both are now sleeping with each other. It makes absolutely zero sense, ion know....
And this isn't me blaming women for men's actions or going on some misogyny trip. If you rewind to the very beginning, outside of him being TOO blunt and curt with her about leaving her back at his place and the job transfer with Alex, all the other issues thereafter were created and escalated because of her. The flowers, the reprimanding she got for her mistake, the ski trip she got upset over—ALL of it came back to the same pattern: she would make an assumption, refuse to communicate it, and then become upset when reality didn't match what she'd created in her head.
Next is her bawling......The bane of my annoyance is her constantly crying.
WHY ARE YOU CRYING?
Over the consequences of your own actions? You made an assumption and created a scenario in your head that's so far-fetched from reality, but you're crying?
Here's the thing: she does a lot of unscrupulous stuff, and then when Luke confronts her, regardless of how harsh he comes off, she plays the victim.
Imagine putting yourself in a situation where you're assaulted, and your boyfriend only finds out because you sent out an email reporting the ordeal????? ARE WE FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW? I completely understand that her intentions were good and that she did what she did so she could help Kitty. But telling your boyfriend lies about what really went down, with the excuse that he already had a lot on his plate and you were thinking in his best interest, is total bullshit. Give me a break! Firstly, there was no way he wouldn't have found out. Secondly, it would've been better if he found out while on leave and at home. She would've had the chance to control his reaction until her plan fully played out. This is way I honestly keeps saying she's a dumbass!
Another thing: she sees this man every day at work and will most likely be with him over the weekend, and you didn't think to tell him that the business trip you guys will be going on to Shenzhen, you'd be meeting up with your ex-boyfriend? That's one thing, but introducing your man as ONLY your boss and to your ex you call "friend" at that? Like, are we being for real right now? She dolls herself up for a dating app, hangs out and gives a big hugs and smiles to her ex man, doesn't introduce Luke as her boyfriend or even tell the ex he's her boyfriend even in the car yet through all of this he's painted as the one with the issue and he's the asshole....
Outside of her being severely insecure and indecisive, she's also a truly terrible person. I really dislike people who do wrong and then, when confronted or reprimanded, act as if they're somehow always the victim. YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR ASS DID. don't piss me off ho! People like that are wicked. At some point, you have to take responsibility for the situations you keep creating.
By no means am I saying Luke is a saint. He is definitely not. He's rude and obnoxious and speaks without mincing his words, but he's always been a person like that. That's one of the traits in him she liked—the way he wasn't fake or the type to ass-kiss.
The relationship started out as a secret situationship, which I believe developed into something somewhat resembling a real relationship, but throughout the whole thing, Luke has always been true to himself and what he wants. She's the one who constantly goes hot and cold and doesn't know how to communicate at all.
All in all, I the character is poorly written and likely needs therapy to deal with her delusions, people-blaming, birdlike behavior, and inability to communicate properly. She has enough awareness to know when something hurts her, but not enough self-awareness to recognize her own role in the cycle. even up until the end they didn't fix this issue of hers which is why it made no sense for them to be end-game!
I believe Luke did everything a boyfriend needs to do: defending her, protecting her, loving her, and compromising for her. He's not perfect, and there were definitely things he could've handled better, but he definitely did everything he should for her! While she's a bird who wasted 6+ years of that man's life, and I believe he deserved an out and someone better. I hate the most how Luke was always the one who makes up with her. She never apologizes and always plays the victim and cries, turning him into the bad guy.
Then she had some nerve proposing they go public with the relationship and talking about marriage. It was so painfully obvious that she only wanted that because she saw that her friend was getting married. Bird-brain! I mean, just a few hours before that, you introduced your man as your boss in front of your ex-boyfriend no less......AND THEN went on to spend half a day with said ex... Like that was literally the perfect opportunity for you to say he was your man. You've damn near met everybody who's close and dear to him (except his mom) and have been introduced as his girlfriend, yet you couldn't extend the same courtesy in front of your EX?
I know Luke loves her and has always been clear about it, but she is genuinely not an easy or good person to love. I'm an onlooker looking into their relationship, and all I've seen is him constantly compromising to make her happy and comfortable while she just WON'T extend the same courtesy. It's like she expected him to keep bending while she remained exactly the same.
She's all about herself, doing whatever without much thought about her partner. This includes but not limited to how she acts around Zhu, her refusal to claim him when it's important, and her constantly having him as alast priority while wanting to remain his number one. And that's ultimately why I don't think they should've ended up together. It's not simply that she's insecure or that he's emotionally unavailable. It's that their needs, expectations, and communication styles are fundamentally mismatched, and the show never really convinced me that they've grown enough to overcome that. Instead, they just became accustomed to each other.
Now.......I never once thought men could be the prize in a relationship, so color me shocked when I found myself disliking the female lead more and more as the show progressed. Yes, she's good at her job. Yes, she's kind to her friends and colleagues. But when it comes to her as a person in a relationship.....oh brother. I finally understood the phrase "love is blind" because of her. I genuinely do not understand how Luke stands her.
More than the actress's poor acting and portrayal of the character, I think the character herself is just downright stupid. I kept trying to look at this from a different lens because maybe I was biased for some unknown reason. But no matter how much I tried to deflect and justify it, it all boils down to the same thing. I know people are gonna say, "Oh, she's a flawed character." NO. A flawed character is Xu Yan from Love's Ambition. Zheng Shu Yi from Only for Love is flawed. Even Luke is a flawed character with his family drama and overly bluntness. Flora is just dumb! She just constantly projects her bad energy on that man whenever stuff aint going her way!
I really wish they would've had her get some help to deal with her insecurity and severe indecisiveness instead of pushing them back together in the end. These are two people who want different things. The ML/Luke wants a hot, fiery "fling" without the label of a "real relationship"(This didn't last long though it started like that.) IDK, maybe due to his poor relationships with his father? And she/Flora?.....Well, she doesn't know what she wants.
She's a textbook case of what an insecure bird looks like, and I say this with as much gentleness as needed. It's not that she doesn't know HOW to communicate; she makes no effort to do so AT ALL.
I can't even describe their relationship as push and pull because, from the beginning, he clearly stated what he wanted and kept acting accordingly. I thought she also knew what she wanted, with her making it clear that they should be dating in secret, picking the days they would meet up, and even setting the terms of the relationship, only for her to constantly get upset when those exact terms were met.
For instance, she made a mistake and was scolded harshly, just like Luke would scold any other subordinate, and her ass starts crying? LIKE HELLO? And yes, I understand the whole pretext of a superior boyfriend giving leeway to his subordinate girlfriend, but that in itself is wrong, and based on what she said, she didn't want that either. Again, proving my point about her being disgustingly and annoyingly indecisive. If you don't want special treatment, then you can't reasonably expect him to suddenly treat you differently just because you're sleeping together.
Another example is her planning her New Year's holiday around spending time with her "friend" and roommate, knowing it'll fall on the weekend that's reserved for her rendezvous with Luke, and then getting upset over the flowers he "apparently" bought for Zang Yao. Like, I totally get you feeling out of place and "below" him because he's so "talented, handsome, rich, and high and mighty,"(he's not. he's fucking arrogant idiot) but come the fuck on. STAND UP!!!! She behave and sells herself cheap and surprise why that's all others can see....
You're brave enough to tell him he should let you know if he stops liking you or if he has someone else, but you're not brave enough to clearly ask what's going on between him and his friend???? Huh? make it make sense!
She's just completely unfair and hypocritical because when Luke told her that her flatmate liked her, she just blew him off as if it was just jealousy talk. She wouldn't and didn't even think to draw a line with Zhu to make Luke feel better. Instead they became even closer and were even going on dog walks together, but somehow Luke taking a photo with his childhood friend was enough to have her bawling for 40 nights and days. And everybody is blaming him for creating space to make his girlfriend feel threaten and insecure when she quite literally does the same thing; even worst than him. Atleast he very clearly states he's taken and draws a line. She just does whatever. Which I find so Very hypocritical.
Let's speak on their communication now. Due to how bad that shit was, they'll be fighting and going no-contact with each other, and then in the next scene you'll see her giving in to his advances even though she's pretending to refuse them. Like, gurl, again, STAND UP! You're embarrassing us women. Do you want the man or not? Why do you constantly have one foot in and the other one out? why are you being lukewarm then blaming others when you get hurt? You're constantly asking for the emotional security of a committed relationship while also agreeing to the limitations of a situationship, and then becoming upset when those limitations actually affect you. Very nonsense person
I think the ML has problems of his own, and I believe he's toxic to a certain degree. He's not some innocent victim who did everything right either. He's rude, obnoxious, and his bluntness can absolutely be hurtful, but I'm not sure (actually, I am.) he is to blame for how BAD the relationship played out. If we're going to be genuinely unbiased, he was there helping and looking out for her even through all her avoidance and unwarranted outbursts. Still, every issue that arose was out of sheer pettiness and her lack of ability to open her fucking mouth and be vocal about stuff.
I think most of the toxicity we're blaming Luke for stems from her lack of communication. Their conflicts were made worse by her refusal to communicate, but that doesn't mean Luke's behavior was always healthy either especially with how blunt he is.
Let's discuss his bluntness. Let's be clear and fair: I do not agree with his approach or how blunt he is, but in their case, she became attracted to him because he was strict and blunt. So it's extremely redundant to like a trait in someone and then expect them to change that specific trait because you both are now sleeping with each other. It makes absolutely zero sense, ion know....
And this isn't me blaming women for men's actions or going on some misogyny trip. If you rewind to the very beginning, outside of him being TOO blunt and curt with her about leaving her back at his place and the job transfer with Alex, all the other issues thereafter were created and escalated because of her. The flowers, the reprimanding she got for her mistake, the ski trip she got upset over—ALL of it came back to the same pattern: she would make an assumption, refuse to communicate it, and then become upset when reality didn't match what she'd created in her head.
Next is her bawling......The bane of my annoyance is her constantly crying.
WHY ARE YOU CRYING?
Over the consequences of your own actions? You made an assumption and created a scenario in your head that's so far-fetched from reality, but you're crying?
Here's the thing: she does a lot of unscrupulous stuff, and then when Luke confronts her, regardless of how harsh he comes off, she plays the victim.
Imagine putting yourself in a situation where you're assaulted, and your boyfriend only finds out because you sent out an email reporting the ordeal????? ARE WE FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW? I completely understand that her intentions were good and that she did what she did so she could help Kitty. But telling your boyfriend lies about what really went down, with the excuse that he already had a lot on his plate and you were thinking in his best interest, is total bullshit. Give me a break! Firstly, there was no way he wouldn't have found out. Secondly, it would've been better if he found out while on leave and at home. She would've had the chance to control his reaction until her plan fully played out. This is way I honestly keeps saying she's a dumbass!
Another thing: she sees this man every day at work and will most likely be with him over the weekend, and you didn't think to tell him that the business trip you guys will be going on to Shenzhen, you'd be meeting up with your ex-boyfriend? That's one thing, but introducing your man as ONLY your boss and to your ex you call "friend" at that? Like, are we being for real right now? She dolls herself up for a dating app, hangs out and gives a big hugs and smiles to her ex man, doesn't introduce Luke as her boyfriend or even tell the ex he's her boyfriend even in the car yet through all of this he's painted as the one with the issue and he's the asshole....
Outside of her being severely insecure and indecisive, she's also a truly terrible person. I really dislike people who do wrong and then, when confronted or reprimanded, act as if they're somehow always the victim. YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR ASS DID. don't piss me off ho! People like that are wicked. At some point, you have to take responsibility for the situations you keep creating.
By no means am I saying Luke is a saint. He is definitely not. He's rude and obnoxious and speaks without mincing his words, but he's always been a person like that. That's one of the traits in him she liked—the way he wasn't fake or the type to ass-kiss.
The relationship started out as a secret situationship, which I believe developed into something somewhat resembling a real relationship, but throughout the whole thing, Luke has always been true to himself and what he wants. She's the one who constantly goes hot and cold and doesn't know how to communicate at all.
All in all, I the character is poorly written and likely needs therapy to deal with her delusions, people-blaming, birdlike behavior, and inability to communicate properly. She has enough awareness to know when something hurts her, but not enough self-awareness to recognize her own role in the cycle. even up until the end they didn't fix this issue of hers which is why it made no sense for them to be end-game!
I believe Luke did everything a boyfriend needs to do: defending her, protecting her, loving her, and compromising for her. He's not perfect, and there were definitely things he could've handled better, but he definitely did everything he should for her! While she's a bird who wasted 6+ years of that man's life, and I believe he deserved an out and someone better. I hate the most how Luke was always the one who makes up with her. She never apologizes and always plays the victim and cries, turning him into the bad guy.
Then she had some nerve proposing they go public with the relationship and talking about marriage. It was so painfully obvious that she only wanted that because she saw that her friend was getting married. Bird-brain! I mean, just a few hours before that, you introduced your man as your boss in front of your ex-boyfriend no less......AND THEN went on to spend half a day with said ex... Like that was literally the perfect opportunity for you to say he was your man. You've damn near met everybody who's close and dear to him (except his mom) and have been introduced as his girlfriend, yet you couldn't extend the same courtesy in front of your EX?
I know Luke loves her and has always been clear about it, but she is genuinely not an easy or good person to love. I'm an onlooker looking into their relationship, and all I've seen is him constantly compromising to make her happy and comfortable while she just WON'T extend the same courtesy. It's like she expected him to keep bending while she remained exactly the same.
She's all about herself, doing whatever without much thought about her partner. This includes but not limited to how she acts around Zhu, her refusal to claim him when it's important, and her constantly having him as alast priority while wanting to remain his number one. And that's ultimately why I don't think they should've ended up together. It's not simply that she's insecure or that he's emotionally unavailable. It's that their needs, expectations, and communication styles are fundamentally mismatched, and the show never really convinced me that they've grown enough to overcome that. Instead, they just became accustomed to each other.
Was this review helpful to you?
