ShortCircuit

This should've been called The Completely Dysfunctional Homicidal-Suicidal Imperial Family Fails Again.

Since it's everyone's opinion - my own is that the plot is a mess, the execution is a mess, there's no redeeming the FL character, the final eps are the biggest mess of it all, and what saves a bit of it is the ML (despite being a simp brain-love) being handsome and the support cast (by which I only mean the FoF boys. They tried their best with what they were given.)

Her father told him, when he came back in a short visit before the wedding was settled. I don't remember the episode, since they're all mostly same-old, same-old, but maybe around 16-18 or thereabouts,

I'm holding on for the express because I'm so close to the end, and I still like the ML (because he's pretty, not because the character is someone to care much for). But the drama is just not it. I've grown tired of counting how many times the freaking IMPERIAL HOUSE gets attacked, the Imperial Princes get assassinated, try to kill each other, people kidnap then rescue them, or they rescue themselves and NOBODY bats an eye. Like it's supposed to be normal.

You freaking have TWO of them randomly kidnapped and the idiots who KNOW that go around with lights in the dark of the forest... calling their names?! What's THAT going to do, tell the kidnappers you're getting closer? Are you guys out there playing Marco Polo in the dark?! This is so freaking stupid.

Sadly, there are some amazing scenes where one can see what could have been, had the writer been a bit better, or the director knew what they wanted from this drama, or the editor did it better. Like that amazing scene with the CP and the Emperor who's fakely trying to manipulate him into remembering how he cared for him in the CP's childhood. THAT was the level I wiish they had reached for throughout the drama, not the continuous slapstick of boys' harem they had going on for most of it.

Anyway, I'll finish it - for the CP and for Lester Lin and Lai WeiMing, because they put in the emotions. The rest of the cast... *sigh*

The first half, father-and-daughter part was a good action thriller. The later half, the clumsy over the top SK NK nonsense was weak sauce full of PPL.

At least it's done.

Also, them wearing each other's clothes. BF mode, on both of them :D

Final ep really in a week or they'll sneak it in tomorrow?

He's been one of the highlights of TEP, I wish he'd got more leading roles. There's still time though.

Speaking of which, leaving aside he's going to be in the military, he shouldn't mind about being left behind or anything. I mean, 2020 was yesterday, wasn't it?

OMG when he thought ChangYang was a ghost LOL. He was completely certain. Then he pouted 'cause he wanted to keep away and stay by his sacrifice. So cute. I can't understand how ChangYang resists hugging the baby.

That being said, how long has ChangYang been back? 'Cause maybe not just this morning could have been him ghosting around and keeping watch.

(Also, take THAT, dad and sister-from-hell! Nobody can keep these men apart :D)

OMG, QingLang broke my heart. I completely understood that "There are some things I'll never dare to do again". Come here baby, I'll give you a hug.

Also, ChangYang: *takes no sh!t. Not even from his husband* There you go, get him!!

*Round of applause around the house*

I DON'T WANT TO SEE QINGLANG SO DOWN!!!! Why did he fold so easily... ah dammit noble sacrifice. I KNOW ChangYang does NOT agree and would rather let off that school than abandon QingLang.

Also, I hope Shu YiHao loses everything in the worst way imaginable. Because he deserves it.

Whatever shall we do with ourselves when this is over. I'm already mourning it.

Also, WTH evil sister!! Fail your exams or something dire for your age or something, whatever, get a life!!

And I sincerely wish Dad's business all fail. Just to get a taste of the right medicine for him.

He's not. He became shortly suspicious because his birthday is on a different day than his twin's, but that happens with twins born around midnight from time to time. He was just trying to get justice for his dead sister.

He was scape-goated into becoming the killer of TaeSeon's dad. He killed himself in prison, I don't think there was a question of whether he was assassinated there.

Or do you mean why did TaeSeon's father die? I rather got that he was the casino manager and thus he was in Oh JaeHyeon's way into becoming its manager instead and securing her inheritance.

They managed to short-form film Painter of the Night and NOT mess it up (too badly), they're doing an upcoming The Governor's Still Sick (with an actual Chinese cast and team), the future is still extremely promising.

And if we live long enough, someone will sneak 2ha from it's prison. Maybe.

JinMan had the mall for a good while though and they did nothing. In the first season, it looked like the head of Babylon was neutral, most of the time (until JinMan threatened his grandkid or implied he could hurt them if he wanted to). Then he let Bale loose and Bale decided to take out JinMan's family. (Which again is a management issue - you have a rabid dog, you put it down, you don't try to hold on the leash). And by that I mean the SK branch never had beef with JinMan after he left until Bale started the whole mess.

Which, if the Japan area is the headquarters, they would have to have known about and maybe take some action on it.

But I guess it's been years, the script maybe banked on people not rememembering all the details or something.

I'm just kind of mad they're destroying the closed-universe feel of the first season. Maybe it'll be worth it. We'll learn in a month's time :D

I wish the ending were a bit tighter, but the previous eps made up for it. Rounded up a bit from the usual, it's a good drama and explicit - they're getting their courage :D

IIRC, there's no direct relationship with the original novel.

Anyway - re:execs. Those who pay the money choose the dance. Even if not the D+/NF/whatever CEO chooses a plot or anything, they do have managers that liaise with the SK team and I'm pretty certain they do hint (or more) at what a second season should include. Because they're aiming at a broader target audience than the SK one, and they "think" they know what people actually want.

I've seen a lot of Western-money-produced dramas go and become popular with certain audiences (that I believe are atrocious, but they have a lot - a LOT - of flashy things, even if there's not a lot of a story and/or good characters), or flop, or are actually extremely good. (Like the first season of Sweet Home. I'm not even into horror and thought that one was amazing. S2 and S3 of that one were soulless, flashy cashgrabs.)

I hope this doesn't happen with ASfK2, that they make it larger than life but lacking in soul. Not everything has to become a big IP.

Oh well. As I said, we have to see. But the start isn't as interesting as I'd hoped.

Yes. Though TBH I'm lazy, it's my go-to word for any producing Western network. So D+ then?

So, first season hinted JinMan staged his own suicide through drugs he took and that his own body - with the murthehelp tattoo - was on that morgue table. Now they switched it to a nobody's body that JinMan just happened to have prepared and lying around to stage into his own bathroom - for reasons unspecified.

Then they invent a SUPER-overlying org of Babylon in Japan that just happened to let them play around with their dicks in the sand for YEARS and only now noticed things aren't going well in SK?! Like, the hell! Also, this Japan overlord thing is clearly doing dirty evil things - to their own people too - so does that mean JinMan is a fucking mafia from the beginning, going to places just to kill people for unfarious reasons. The first season presented Babylon as a merc org that did diplomate protection and/or rescue or even hostages rescue missions. You know, things one could still root for.

Then we get the super-NK-hacker that replaces Brother (he almost was invisible in the planning, did they even tell him what was going on?)

Then we get the POLICE officer doing merc side things involving hacking and bombs and whatnot. Because he would have the time. And where did he even come from, too?

Now we get a whole network of murthehelp people who just happen to go to places nobody and their mother ever heard of, in order to protect JiAn who also, for reasons of her own, is now a bit kookoo and becoming a recluse.

I mean, why not. She did hold on for a whole night of murder and mayhem, but cracked when it was all over. Because that's what people do.

So yeah, I'm kind of not pleased. I was afraid they would try to make it a whole 'nother circus, that's what they ALWAYS do and ruin things. But still, there's a little hope left. As long as they don't kill JinMan for real - I wouldn't put it beyond them. It would be the "moral" thing to do to set JiAn free, right? (WRONG!)

Oh well, we'll wait and see.

I am mildly displeased with the start of the season, for reasons under the spoiler. But I guess this is what NF/D+/any other Western streamer always does - people like things for certain very specific reasons, NF/D+/any other streamer THINKS they know what people want and try to include that, thus destroying much that was good about the initial story. They did this to Sweet Home too, I very much hope they put enough planning and thinking into ASfK2 to not ruin it. (Though the overblown range of all organisations in this S2 already feel too much for just 8 eps).

ETA By NF I mean any Western producer, they're all alike in how they handle second seasons. (I shudder for Moving 2).