UnaSpenser

I hope this is a decent retelling. I’m a fan of (most of) the novel and thought the original drama adaptation did such a great job with portraying the setting and the nature of the characters. It felt quite down to earth. Of course, the actors did such a good job that the it’s iconic,.

But, I’m eeling unsure about this. Gu Hai is a big, totally buff, military trained bad ass. Bai Luo Yan is a gritty, poor kid who almost matched Gu Hai’s physical prowess, while having an even more gruff personality,

What made their pairing so alluring was that they were like walking male pheromones with everyone around them being attracted to that. They were young men who could literally fight their way through the obstacles they would face. There was a way in which they defied certain stereotypes about gay men.

The two characters here look so soft and pretty. They seem more preening that prowess. (Gu Hai would never wear that outfit!) I can’t imagine them surviving some of what’s in the story, much less having the physical prowess to outclass the gym teacher.

There were things in the novel that I hope never to see depicted, as they should never be part of a romance. However, the core of the characters and the overarching story was compelling enough to cringe and look past some things. If the central feeling of the characters is changed, it very likely becomes a much more bland story. That’s already going to be the case by making it a friendship story rather than a romance. You can only change so much of what gave a story it’s charge, before you’ve lost the spark. And you’re telling a different story. In which case, don’t use the same plot. Write something new.

Will wait to see what people say after a while. Maybe it will be better than my gut is telling me it will be.

Just starting episode 8. So far, the real romance is between the instructor and the captain. They are relationship goals. Love how they talk with each other.

What’s with all the parental abuse apologetics in this? It’s very disturbing. Gaslighting victims by telling them that constant berating and even hitting is really a form of love? Wtf?

At one point, vehement instructor even says, “I bet it felt like verbal abuse, but you’ll come to understand…..” to someone in a suicidal crisis. No. This is not how you help someone through that. Just stop.

Ok. Will check. Thank you.

I have hyperacusis and some sounds and pitches literally cause me pain.

Just started this. Please tell me that her voice gets better. I can’t listen to this childish voice for very long. It grates on me.

I'm only at the beginning, but Gong Yoo's character is not all that likeable and the other character redeemed himself when he laughed off the FL's prank, acknowledging that he deserved it.

Also, that mullet.... :-D

showed up on Viki and I thought I'd give it a watch.

I'm having a hard time with some of the set up.

"You left in your sophomore year of college. Has it been 6 years?" - OK. That gives her maximum 3 years of work experience. Yet, somehow, she's sorely needed to head a project planning and development team for a film production company? And she's going to just jump into a position above all these experienced people? What, exactly are her qualifications?

"It wasn't easy to get her...." um. It required exactly one 5-minute meeting. You didn't even work to find her. She's the friend of one of your film directors.

Also having a really hard time swallowing the intrusive friend who just yells and makes judgement of people. "Are you going to unpack these?" "I'll do it later." "Well, then, I'll do it now." Um, leave her belongings alone, unless you're asked to unpack them.

Hoping this is just the lame way of setting up the story and the writing gets better. Does it?

Their scenes are so good. And the dance if their characters is so interesting. I found their f relationship to be the most engaging.

There are two separate cases, which are not connected as crimes, so much as connected by the people trying to solve them, or being impacted by them.

It’s more a story of corruption and power dynamics amongst lawyers/law firms. A look at how challenging it can be to bring to light the nefarious acts of someone revered in an industry.

It is, perhaps, Luo Jin’s best performance ever.

What a well-crafted story. Interesting construction with the shift of protagonist and the way the to parts together. Engaging characters, where you sensed depth from the acting, though there wasn’t a lot of background or exposition. Also, so many ambiguous characters.

So glad they didn’t wedge a romance in there.

Good acting all around. Maybe the best I’ve seen from Luo Jin.

Would definitely watch a second season. Maybe something a few years down the road. How do the upcoming power dynamics play out? Are there any changes in Qiao’s relationship with his (ex-) wife? With his ability to be more involved in relating to the people around him?

Maybe there’s a case that draws the bartender/lawyer into it more…. Maybe there is a story about Xiao Nan’s background: how she ended up an orphan…. Does Wu Han shift her way of lawyering and being a partner?

It’s one of the rare times that I found the end fairly satisfying, while also finding myself imagining what might happen with these people in the future.

also Goto Shinsuke is very caricaturish. Every time there is a scene with him, I feel like we've switched to an anime style.

I'm only on episode 5, but I find myself confused about why the original murder wouldn't have been reported as an act of defense.

I'm guessing that we don't yet know, who really killed him? And what role the father played? But, whoever did it, it was in response to him raping someone and was an act of defense or protection. If it was the boy, it was also an act of an impaired minor. I doubt he would have faced any dire consequences.

Is it still, in this day and age, so problematic for a woman to have been raped - in terms of social reactions attacking her? In that particular case, had they reported it right away, they would have had all the evidence of her being drugged and her injuries, etc. Why would anyone go to the trouble of burying him and pretending that nothing happened? That's a lifelong worry.

I'm hoping the story is more complex, because, otherwise, I'm finding it hard to feel the justification of the series of dilemmas it set off.

The character is dead inside, due to his past trauma, and the actor and/or director decided to play him flat. Totally flat. There is no nuance, at all. He doesn't even have any personality quirks. (being committed to the mission of one's job shouldn't be seen as quirky, imho.) I'm only on episode 8, so I haven't finished it. But, his character has had zero movement. He just plugs along doing what he always does.

That might actually be more true to life than other more dramatic presentations of trauma and recovery, but its rather boring to watch.

Its a good thing that the story is constructed well and there are enough other things to keep one interested.

thank you for explaining.

Always captivating.

The "Rose" thing?

Absolutely.

I don’t disagree with you there. It’s not that this should be a higher rating, but that others should be lower.

It’s too bad that there any standards for the rating scale.

I enjoyed it, but it did get formulaic. I was fast-forwarding a bunch in the last 2-3 episodes.

I’d say 8 is suitable. It was entertaining enough. Had the rarely seen enjoyable side characters - loved that the brothers were solid and that the older brother was so consistently sweet. But, it wasn’t stellar or had anything phenomenal about it.

Agreed. The one missing piece, though, was the mother’s history prior to meeting the dad. I would have liked to know more about why she was so vulnerable to such a man. As if she had no self-definition without him. Would not leave him even if he married someone else? And was a frightening psychopath? Would let her child become one of his tools? What childhood led to that?

But, yeah, you come to have some sympathy. In fact, the constant pontificating by the police characters, that poverty and trauma are no excuse for crimes, was getting annoying.

They said it to someone who stole money, because he had no way to earn money to eat or pay medical bills.

Natural law is more primal than manmade law. If a legal/political system leaves people impoverished and desperate to survive, natural law dictates that they will do what they need to. It’s an inherent right to survive.


And the abuse and trauma that the dad endured when he was a child? No wonder he became a psychopath. He wasn’t born that way. He needed help. Where’s the social responsibility for what happened to him, as all the neighbors stayed silent? The state is just going to kill him, like his uncle tried to? Ugh. What a tragedy.

So, that lecturing they kept doing was making them look cruel and it was evoking more compassion for the criminals.

Interesting story in that regard.