UnaSpenser

Oh yikes. I hadn’t gotten that far, yet.

I don’t know. I knew about the all the things the father and brother were up to. I knew the cousin was going to put the scorpion in her bed. I knew she’d find all the prisoners and get them released. I knew she’d get caught in the net and the dude would cut her out. I found myself wanting to just skip ahead because it felt as if I’d already seen it. Oh well. Maybe my brain was being weird and giving me instant de ja vu. ?

Hahahahaa!

I think it’s to highlight their contrasting styles, but that is a such a funny observation!

Is this drama remake?

It felt as if I’d seen all the bits in Hulan before. I absolutely knew all the details that were to happen. Not just the gist of it. It was disorienting.

This is now on DramaCool with subs.

Wanted to enjoy this and did, at first.

Then, it took turns that ruined what made it compelling in the first place.

FL starts off as confident, smart investigator who is better than all the men in the department. But, as soon as she meets up with ML, she’s suddenly almost incapable of analyzing anything and has to turn to him. Also, she was a fighter, able to fend for herself and suddenly she becomes reliant upon him to protect her.

But, the thing that made it unwatchable was the two stalkers. It is not cute or funny or entertaining to have characters refuse to accept “no” and force themselves into the other persons’s life. I’d really like to see this trope die a horrible death, as it diminishes the very serious nature of this kind of behavior. I came to hate every single moment Xie Xiao was in the screen. insisting that the FL be “his”. She very clearly said she was not interested. Not only does he mansplain her own feelings and patronizingly determine what she needs, he stalks her, refusing to leave her alone. He also mansplains his fiancé’s feelings, never once asking her to state her own feelings, The FL has a professional job to perform. Why does he get to tag along? Arrest him for interference in public duty and save the rest of us from having to sit through his horrible scenes, where he is behind juvenile.

The other stalker is a bit more respectful, in that he acknowledges that the woman doesn’t have any interest in him, Still, he insists on “being her shadow” to “protect” her.. His character was interesting before this story arc started. He was a comrade and supporter of the FL. A great feminist ally. He lost all his feminist credentials, the moment he ignored a woman’s “don’t appear in front of me again” command, and he seemed to just abandon his job and his friendship and he became nothing but a sad crush boy.

This crap ruins a story like nothing else. What could have been a fun crime/mystery romp, with a slowly developing relationship between the leads became an annoying focus on misogynist, narcissistic dudes. It was stomach churning and I had to stop watching, as it was drained of all enjoyment. I wish they had stayed with the fun antics of all the men and criminals dealing with this young, female prodigy., while also getting some training from another young professional. Better crime mystery arcs and more interesting problem solving, highlighting how the strengths of the two leads complement each other would have been fabulous. Sadly, this is not that.

Updating to say that this was funnier when it wasn’t about romantic relations. It was all just over the top goofiness until this stuff kicked in. Then it got toxic. Also tedious. I stopped watching.

This is great fun, even though some of it is not my kind of humor. That is, the ensemble does such a great job and the writing is so good that it transcends its genre.

I must say, Lee Yi Kyung really steals the show. I find myself almost just getting through the other scenes in anticipation of his. (Not really. They all do a great job. But, he got a gem of a part and his energy is so infectious.)

Those are all the same reasons that I don’t like CDramas. I was horrified when I started watching at how awful the characters and relationships were. And this trope of the men tormenting or torturing a woman, only to be somehow redeemed as the romantic partner just disgust me. (And, yes, there are some extremely popular dramas where I’m at a loss to appreciate fans who support these toxic notions about women and relations.)

Trust me, based on what you’re saying, I’m pretty sure you will like MingLan.

One of the most solid character actors out there. If he’s in the cast, I’m thinking the director and producer are serious about production. Wish they would give him lead roles.

I was thinking that HwaJin added those notes. She was referring to the scribbles in it and how she should have taken better care. In fact, I found myself wondering if her newfound remorse was fake and she confessed about the well, so that the book would be associated with the queen. She suspected he had already figured it out. And his brother knew, so it was only a matter of time. So, maybe she took control over the reveal and used that to frame the queen.

Do they need to stay true to history? It’s fiction. And it’s not China.

That said, with the idea that CheolJung is having a dream about what is happening now being offered up in episode 16, I felt they weren’t going to give us the “happy ending” of them staying together in this timeline. If it’s all a dying dream, then even if it ends well, it disappears when he dies. But, how that would blend with fact that Bong Hwan is in a coma and having this experience is confusing. Maybe, even the contemporary story is a dream? The dying king wouldn’t know anything about future Joseon/Republic of Korea, though, so how is this info in his dream?

The only possible happy ending is that Bong Hwan’s contemporary body is dying without its soul. The original So Jung has already died. The scene where she sinks in the water while he’s watching implies that her suicide was successful. So, in the death throes of his male body, he gets to make a choice. Return and save that body, or leave and let the queen die.

The audience has no vested interest in the contemporary Bing Hwan character, unless there is going to be a sequel about him and his life after having experienced life as a woman. So, there isn’t anything emotionally compelling about having him go back. Other than stopping him from changing history, what would be the point? And that’s just boring.

But, maybe the writers have some interesting points I haven’t considered.

I find it hit or miss with CDramas. MingLan was one of my favorite female characters of all time. Now, there is the Rebel Princess, with a fantastic female character. And both stories have wonderful male partners with the women. So, urged in a deep pile of patriarchal misogynist portrayals, out come some of the most well-written female characters, who are not warriors. I like my female warriors a lot, but if we want meaningful portrayals of realistic female character types, we need more like Ming Lan.

This has been such a fun ride, so far. Both leads are awesome in their roles.

And episode 14 does something I’ve yet to see done in an Asian drama,

I they’ve gotten around the cultural homophobia by changing his internal dialogue to a feminine voice.

It’s a fascinating choice. If he decides, or is forced, to stay in this timeline, he basically is a trans person.

It was very telling when, in his confused musings about having had sex with the king, there was the line, “did I like it even better?”

As in, maybe he was detached from relationships and overcompensating as a playboy because he is actually more suited to being a woman. None of this has to be intended for it it be a possible interpretation. The story producers can maintain a “heterosexual” story line, while also subtly having the audience accepting a trans person. And/or accepting that it is a gay relationship for him, even though he’s in a female body. Either way, it’s a very clever device for allowing a concept to sneak in while people are not realizing it.

It will be interesting to see where they go with it. Did they cop out and have him return to his original body? Or does he come to terms with being in a female body and come to cherish his relationships in this timeline?

And she lacks the patient planning of a general. I had actually forgotten that she was supposed to have been a general. She has. I military bearing, at all.

I see friendship chemistry not romantic chemistry.

Some of that is the FL character is written as completely one-dimensional. She’s boring as hell. Because she’s written that way, with absolutely no interest or engagement in any but fighting, it’s a testament to WYB’s acting that he can make his character appear interested in her.

I’m really hoping there is no kiss scene. I think it would be really awkward. Unless there are some really big changes in the way they are with each other. For now,t hey feel like siblings who get along well.

His skill is footwork/running. So, that string array was the perfect challenge for him. But, she’s the fighter.

That said, I find her character both willfully stupid and boring. She has zero character development other than being interested in fighting. And,mast you said, she has this snooty facial expression all the time. I can see people maybe admiring her fighting ability, but why else would they want to spend even one minute with her? She’s totally one-dimensional.

I was looking forward to this drama. Now, that it’s here, I’m just not feeling it.

The leads have a somewhat playful energy - mostly carried off by him - but it doesn’t feel romantic. More like brother and sister. Which is fine, if it’s a story about good friends, but it’s not. I can’t imagine how they’re going to turn romantic and have it feel at all authentic.

Mostly, though, I would still watch them. They’re good actors. But, I’m somehow bored. Not getting enough of whatever the main story arc is which should be driving the plot. In episode 21, I find myself trying to remember what the larger plot even is. The screenplay is just not written well.

I’ll probably see it through, but it’s not like I’m sitting with any anticipation from week to week. Seems like such a waste of these actors and the original work.

I found that black dress less than impressive. There wasn’t anything particularly special about it. I just went with the fantasy “the fabric is magic” idea to convince myself that people would be wowed when they saw her.

This is the first drama I can remember, in a long time, where not one single character has any, well, character. There isn't anything intriguing about any of them. They're all pretty one-dimensional.