UnaSpenser

I'm thoroughly enjoying his performance as King Ning in Flourished Peony. He can be so lovely, and has been in several roles recently. Here, though, he is masterfully menacing. Its nice to see him get to exercise different acting muscles!

FL: I don't hate her. Can't be bothered. I do think the writing for her is stupid. I'm only on ep 16, and she's willing to take away any political power the ML has and get him killed, just so she doesn't have to reveal that he's the biological father of her child? Am I supposed to believe, somehow, that she actually loves him? She sure seems to be reaping a hell of lot of revenge on him, rather than the people she's supposedly aiming for.

Romance: it's nothing but toxic. They grew up together - after he literally saved her life and pushed him mom to adopt her - and then married, because, supposedly, they were so bonded. Yes, she was told he was dead. But, he's not, now. Rather than seeing him as a partner and planning together, so that she doesn't further traumatize someone who's been through a shit load trauma, she heaps it on, starting immediately upon him learning that the wife he survived for married someone else. It's like high octane makjang - cruelty version. No matter what "chemistry" they might have, I cannot see any of this as romantic. He needs trauma recovery assistance and to stay as far away from her as he can. She's twisted. No. This is not romance.

Yes, the skinship has been more energized than some - though it makes my skin crawl.

Agree on your X's. Him being a doormat for her and literally begging for humiliation all the time was hard to watch. At least, it was understandable, given all the trauma.

I'm stopping at 16. I simply can't imagine what they could possible fill 26 more episodes with that would make this a decent story.

For me, the cruel part is that she doesn't just go after revenge, she actively says the cruelest things to the ML, even when people are not around. He's just come back from barely surviving a brutal seven years on the battlefield, to find out that his wife is married to someone else. Do you, if you love this person, tell them their accomplishments are nothing? Do you haughtily extol the virtues of being in the family which caused the deaths of all of his family members? It's absolutely cruel. She knows it's breaking him. He's out of mind from PTSD and the idea that the only thing which kept him fighting for his life, since he had no family, was to get back to her.

If she loves him at all, which I'm not sure how she defines that, she would see him as more of a partner and tell him what she's up to. If she loves him, why is she keeping the identity of his son from him? It's very patronizing - or, in this case, matronizing.

I have only watched a few episodes, so I don't what happens down the line. But, whatever her revenge motivations, she's using a strategy which feels as if she's also getting revenge on him. I want him to realize that she's a superficial and cold-hearted person who has no sense of commitment to a friend (for pete's sake they grew up together! How do you treat someone you've known that long the way she does? As a child, he got his family to adopt her, so that she didn't die in a cave, but she's going to humiliate him all the time, now? wtaf?), much less a romantic partner. If she manages to help take the Zhou family down, great. But, he's better off without this fair weather woman. What a horribly written character. She's wholly unlikable.

Coerced relationship sare not due the same considerations as those which are entered into without coercion.

Why aren't people noting that the ML was utterly devastated and in a deep depression after the rich girl's daddy destroyed his career and life? Then, she stalks him and insists that she likes him. She pushed him into a relationship, while he was down. Psychologically, he didn't have the capacity to consent. What he did was accept that option over processing the pain her family had caused him. Its the same concept of there being no real consent possible if someone is drunk. An impaired person cannot consent. Being traumatized is a state of impairment.

He's never said that he loves her. She has pushed for every stage of development in their relationship. Its not one of equity. She's preying on his vulnerability: both his psychological frailty and his lower social status.

If he has the wherewithal to end things with her before starting another relationship, wow, what a super human being. But, most of us aren't super human. We're just muddling along as best we can, with all the damage we've taken along the way. Relationships get messy because we're not impervious to psychological harm. That needs to be taken into consideration, rather than passing cold-hearted judgement based on some mythological purity screening.

What does it even serve for people to look at this character and be screaming, "he's cheating!" It ignores everything else the character has been through. And he's been through a hell of it. Still being harmed by her family, as he's put in the global spotlight for a dangerous mission that he was lied to about and will be further humiliated by. But, hey, let's just be upset that might not have the absolute grace to rise above everything he's had to live through.

What the hell? Its a story. And stories present us scenarios in order for us to consider all the things which impact the people in them. But, here, we're just going to ignore all the trauma he's been through and have the highest expectations?

this. feelings happen. otherwise, you're not human. if you can't stand the notion that a human you have a relationship with will have feelings towards others, don't be in relationships. actions are what matters.

also, the relationship we're referring to, between the ML and the rich daughter? It was a coerced one. Her dad destroys his life and then she shows up, when he's personally devastated and has nowhere to turn, and she stalks him and then insists on having a relationship. He was in no psychological condition to give consent, really. She compromised the relationship from the beginning, because she's from a powerful family and is used to getting what she wants. Not once has he said that he loves her and she knows it. But, for whatever reasons she has - likely complex daddy ones - she kept pushing things forward. He didn't initiate anything. He has been dragged along because his self-esteem was dragged into oblivion.

That's not a relationship that deserves any loyalty. It will nice if he can break things off, before entering into an active relationship with anyone else, but, given how much psychological damaged her family did him - and keeps doing to him - I would find it acceptable for him to be messy about things.

Maturity isn't about demanding some mythical standard of purity. Its about compassion and understanding how life happens and people are affected and broken and can only do the best with what they're living with.

Interestingly, for all the flaws, I'm still enjoying it. I don't care about the eggs, at all. But, I'm curious to see how they resolve the two leads both being in relationships they don't have emotional investment in. Those are tricky waters and, in real life, rarely navigated well. Life is messy. But, good writers can offer helpful compasses.

So far, though, the writing hasn't been great. Can it be that the writers are better at the human relations than they are at the antics? I'm still willing to find out.

There are a lot of writing weaknesses in this story. The whole setup is a bit inane: rich guy manipulates space station mission just to keep his DNA in the species. Ugh. Just adopt.

Beyond that, though, I hope they manage to let the ML character show us more depth. For instance, once his career was utterly destroyed by the rich dude, he would have been feeling utterly powerless, depressed and cynical. Then, he is basically pushed, by the daughter of that same dude, into a relationship, because she wants it (likely for complex daddy issue reasons.) He's so lost and apathetic that he just goes along with it, even though he doesn't really have feelings for her. That can happen. Rebound relationships, where you're not recovered from a trauma and enter a relationship because the good feelings are better than what you're processing from the trauma.

Fine, we'll go with that. But, its not going to work, unless we see him regain a sense of self worth. (the mouse operation might be the beginning of that.) Yes, he's clumsy and kind of boring, because, well, he's lost and shut down. But, then, having him risk the entire crew and station in an extremely dangerous move to recover the eggs? It doesn't fit the trajectory.

Since when did he become willing to put himself on the line? Since when was he okay with risking other people's lives? Up until now, he's actually had a pretty solid ethic as a doctor. He just threw that ethic out the window? For the rich lady, who's trying to help the rich FIL who destroyed his life?

The writers couldn't come up with a better scenario for him getting the eggs back? Its a comedy. Couldn't they have found some comedic way for him to figure out the code? They did a huge disservice to the character here.

Let's get past the basic unreality of a dude being sent to space, because some family has insufficient sperm.

The other things, though: given the setting, they clearly have meaning. They are on a science mission that is all about reproduction in space. Also, scientists can be very competitive about findings. The flies and the operation would both be considered huge milestones in the field of human survival off of planet Earth. From a storytelling point of view, I expect that these will import later. The doctor whose career and life were ruined by a rich, narcissistic jerk makes a significant scientific breakthrough, even though he had been seen as an idle, moneygrubbing wealthy fiance who was just on a joy ride that no one else can afford.

How could this not have something to do with where the story will going?

agreed. highly risky move. I guess he was thinking that he learned enough to know he could make it happen safely. (there was no fire, just smoke) And he's desperate to get his career/life back, after what was done to him. But, still. You're on a f'ing space station, where any little thing can cost the lives of everyone. the writers couldn't come up with a less dangerous way for him to recover the eggs? they did a huge disservice to the character.

The "my eggs" part didn't get to me as much. He's connected to his patient, who wanted him to get the eggs back. I mean, the whole scenario is ridiculous. All this over having a genetically related child? I don't get the obsession with that. You're going to be dead some day and none of this matters. Just adopt. Anyway, as someone with a serious chronic illness, I do appreciate it, when my doctor is so invested in my care that he refers to things as "ours", related to my illness and symptoms, etc. Its far better than the docs who remain so detached that they can't even be bothered to run tests, because they can't empathize.

But wasn't that exactly what he was poking fun at, in the first episode? The manager who doesn't like him goes on and on about how he can't speak proper Mandarin.

Isn't his line delivery supposed to be "bad"? That's part of the humor. Wasn't that set up in the modern times scenes with his erstwhile new manager?

Anyway, I'm enjoying it, thus far. Its silly and entertaining. Very different from Joy of Life, which are both borrowing a time-traveling concept which has been around for ages. Dylan Want doesn't disappoint with his energy.

I wonder if they're people that Wen put at her side. They might be giving him info and/or involved in setting things up for him?

How come the other cops aren't noting that there is a huge conflict of interest, having the ML on the case? Everyone involved are his classmates; his girlfriend and her friends.

I know that in dramaland, we often see this, but it gets infuriating. He should not be on this case. He's the vortex at the center of it all.

Seriously. Two people have been murdered. She's been stalked with an attempted rape. But, she's "investigating" on her own: stalking and harassing a suspect of a violent crime, and taking zero precautions for her own safety.

I've been stalked before. I've been around many who have. This is not the usual behavior of a stalking victim.

Plus, she's not sharing what she knows with the police. She supposedly wants her friends' murders to be investigated, but she withhold vital information. Deng Man's state of mind and her conflict with the FL over the boyfriend are at the center of what happened to Deng Man, but she's not going to reveal that? She's kind of a jerk; hindering their investigation.

What I see happening is that he keeps getting typecast as the "good hero" type. Whether its military, police, fireman, whatever; they all feel the same. He's good at it, in a bland kind of way. He feels very natural in front of the camera. But, it gets boring.

I want to know: is he not a good enough actor to branch out and do other things? Be the villain. Be the nerdy, not physically dominant guy. Be a goofy, clumsy dude. Be a bombastic shit stirrer. Anything, at this point, to show that he's an actor and not a one-note commodity.

Is he taking lousy scripts because he can't get other work?

same. they are listed so close to the top that, all along, I keep waiting for the hints that they're behind some things. But, so far, they seem to be almost incidental characters.

Here's my why:

Its not a very serious drama, for sure. I like most of the actors, a lot. They are carrying their roles well. All along though, something has felt off about this story. First, it kinda lost me when the FL starts investigating a violent crime, without letting the police know what she's learned. Two people have been murdered ("driven to suicide" is murder) and she has been stalked, with an attempted rape. But, you know, keep things to yourself and go investigate on your own. Right...... I get that she's traumatized. Its actually refreshing to see a drama where someone who has been victimized the way she has is truly struggling with PTSD. But, the sudden will and ingenuity to stalk and harass someone she suspects of murder? It came out of the blue and feels out of character.

Also, that she has, for all these years, refused to mention the conflict between her and Deng Man. Its a major point regarding Deng Man's distress and vulnerability. Your friend's death is being investigated and you have meaningful info and you're not going to say anything? Instead, you're going to mysteriously end things with the person who cares for you? Without ever telling him what was going on?

Then, we have the creepy, "protective", cop/not-boyfriend who is disregarding the autonomous will of a woman and has surreptitiously moved in next door, surveilling her. He's watching her in her private space! No. She asked him to stay away. Its her prerogative. If she's in danger, she still has the right to make her own choices. Its so patronizing. If someone did that to me, I'd cut all ties, as they clearly have no respect for my boundaries.

Mostly, though, the story thus far has been about women becoming unhinged when they are rejected by a man. One damn man is the spark for all this violence? Give me a break.

In the real world, real women are assaulted and murdered every day by men who are rejected. Women have to walk in fear and be prepared for assault at any time, because men are so dangerously fragile. The cases of women hurting men who have rejected them are extremely rare, if there are any at all. So, why is this story playing into misogynist stereotypes about women? Are we returning to the "women are hysterical" era? Its disturbing that the writers chose this direction and that producers spent money on top stars to put this in the minds of viewers. Storytelling is powerful. We all know it. That's why authoritarian governments and people like to ban books and censor things. The producers and writers know that stories leave deep impressions and this is what they want to impress in our minds?

I'm sad that such good artists are being used this way.

I also found myself empathizing with the sister. She was treated as a second class citizen in her family; came to the family's rescue when the FL put them all at risk by disappearing; accepted her fate when she couldn't marry the prince that she actually would have liked to marry; and then is constantly put at risk by the FL's stupid antics. All the while, she remains calm and emotionally torn about what to do regarding the FL. In some ways, she's the only admirable character of the bunch.

The ML is temperamental and bossy. He uses the power inequity to control the FL when he wants to. The FL is just dumb as a post. She is supposedly "saving" her sister, who asked not to be saved. And then blames everyone else when she gets into trouble for messing around in the palace. She hides her identity, while getting angry if the ML withholds anything. The ML lords over his brother, who is the one with the military accomplishments, even though the "testament" which would rightfully name who the previous king wanted to ascend the throne hasn't been found, so his place on the throne is not considered "secure." The 2ML has a guard who keeps making moves which both kill people and make him look like he's vying for power, but he doesn't get rid of him.

Both princes, who have a lot of responsibilities on their plate and are supposed to be governing a country, as grown adults, are somehow just putting everything aside because they're falling in love with someone who is too dumb to survive and seems to be about 10. Not a good look.

For a girl raised in a military family, she sure is dumb.

Also, she's a girl. Not a woman. That's the only way one could even begin to explain the childish behavior and expressions. She acts as if she's 10.

The problem with that is that both grown princes are in love with a dumb child?

One can make a goofy romance without having the FL being so immature that its super uncomfortable to think of men pursuing her.

Ok. We can call it "wrong."

Sometimes we do the wrong thing, because we think its best. We don't care if others condemn us.

I'm not arguing in support of vigilanteism. I'm noting that, as an observer of the story, I could absolutely empathize with Gilho and see why he would make that choice. Its not as simple as whether or not it was "immoral". Whose morality? We tend to want to think that morality is universal, when it is not.

There are several things which make this story compelling. Gilho's anti-hero trajectory is one of them. If we're at all empathetic, we are forced to at least think about the conundrum a bit.

What I would hope is that more and more of us see that, if we let things go on too long, people are driven to darker places and their sense of morality shifts. He's a character who has absolutely no reason to believe there is any justice that will come "the system." He's not even in the system, as an undocumented person. So, he feels no obligation to adopt its morality. Especially, since he's witnessed what people in power, in that system, are truly like.

I guess, instead of jumping to call out the immorality of his act, I wish that people were more compelled to discuss how the social construct he's living in created him. That's a more important thing to explore than whether he was in the right or wrong.