any_anka

I really enjoy this drama, but I might need some advice on *how* to survive the princess, her self-entitled behaviour and constant harassment of the dude she married? istg

Why is it not listed in here though... 🤔

In my impression it was strong all along, hence my original comment, but if you enjoyed it at first and find it a bit slow now, I suppose there's hope you will like it again ;)
They do talk a fair amount of time tbh. But all this talk, TLC strategizing etc. is part of the fun for me.

Aaah, it is! I didn't notice! Added to my watchlist. Thank you :)

Drop. This is not the case of a drama that starts underwhelmingly and later gets better. The pacing is pretty even throughout the whole story and the vibe is consistent. I'd say, if you don't enjoy it at this point, it's very likely it's just not your cup of tea.
Unless you're watching with some messed up subtitles and bcs of that can't follow the story... some ppl seemed to have that issue.

Would be lovely if Taiwan thought of selling some streaming rights to international platforms to dramas other than just BLs... Here comes another show that I'd love to check out because of the cast alone, but will have to pass cause have nowhere to watch it (sigh).

Journey To Love.
In my humble opinion, you won't find a better example of both actually strong and smart FL and ML.
Only it doesn't have fantasy elements. However, there's still plenty of adventure!

I don't want him to die either :)

Only that I sort of like his character (or like his presence in the show might be more accurate). Though I agree with your point abt TLC and LY's redemption too.

Aaah, I wouldn't know then. I watch it with English subs and these on Viki seem really good (I feel they catch the "essence" and mood of the dialogues - not that I understand much of Mandarin, but they just seem to work better for me ;) They maybe over translate at times, with switching "da ge" into "mr." etc., but overall they're really good.

Either way, to your original point, I think this drama does require a bit of brain work (probably not something you'd wanna watch while doing chores and just glancing over from time to time, especially with flashbacks and riddle-like conversations). Luckily, Chi Yun is usually clueless and gets things spelled out for him by someone of the group (usually one of the girls), so the audience can always count on those explanations ;)
Still, I feel like enjoying Tang Li Ci's strategizing and conversing with others is half of the fun, so good subtitles are essential to follow the story and enjoying the drama.

Well... where are you watching? I found some subtitles more confusing than others. Viki has really good subs in my opinion, so I'm actually switching to watch it there starting from ep 10.

I've already started Whispers of Fate. So far it is soooo good, I am completely satisfied by what it's serving (wuxia, road story, crime mystery and this sort of spiritual/mystical vibe. ahhh, it's so, so good).

If you haven't watched it yet, I second the recommendation. Journey to Love is a great drama with a multitude of amazing, multi-layered, fun characters, the one played by him being my favourite.

I don't think you're overthinking, these are intentional analogies and make the story more interesting. We as audience, get to see the whole spectrum of acting/reacting to life situations. I think the writing is really good on that aspect of the drama.

I like what you wrote, because it shows you clearly watch the show with great attention and can provide valid arguments to your opinion - I found them quite insightful. Still, even after reading all you wrote, I feel like those things were lost on me. I mean, they look good here, in your writing, "on paper" but I don't feel I experienced them while watching the show (and I actually like it when stories don't spell everything out for the audience, but I guess Trin and Tanwa's epic connection was really too subtle for me ;)).

Take for example that scene when Trin stepped into the rain. As pretty as it was as a standalone scene, I didn't really feel its significance. It's not like Trin is portrayed as this supressed guy who lack spontaneity. He has no problem taking of his suit or get high on cannabis pretty much from the get-go. Hence why this rain-scene is not some big break-through for his character in my eyes, just a pretty piece of cinematography. And those philosophical conversation he has with Tanwa... sound more like ramblings of a dude who's high to me, maybe my soul is not poetic enough to see them the way you do ;)

Having said that, I did like what happened between them in episode 6, which I just finished. I feel like - aside from the conversation at the beach - I saw them really bond in a meaningful way: Tanwa waiting for Trin and being his comfort after everything that happened did earn him some points in my eyes. The following conversation when Trin opened up about his trauma, them talking about cherishing the moments that already had passed (well, Trin did most of the talking, but I felt like what he said was really resonating with Tanwa this time). So... I guess what I am trying to say is that the show is somewhat rectifying what I considered its previous flaws in developing this relationship. It doesn't change how I feel abt Trin/Tanwa's beginnings, but at the very least I can enjoy where they're heading, I suppose ;)

It doesn't make sense for me how these two fell in love. Forget that they have nothing in common, that alone could be fine, opposites attract, maybe Trin is attracted to Tanwa's free spirit and whatnot, but I feel like we as audience didn't really see them resonate emotionally at all. The second CP, even if their relationship is in great majority physical, had those moments of connecting intellectually, corresponding with each other, exchanging thoughts... and now they're clashing over their life attitudes. We can see the depth.
Victor and Trin - as misguided as some of Victor's "courting attempts" were, have this entire huge thing where they want to change the world and make it a better place to connect over. And we get to witness that: initially we see them clash, then over the time Trin wins Victor's trust and heart as they both strive to make a difference.
Meanwhile, what happens with Tanwa and Trin? Tanwa disrupts Trin's work, gets high, has a public fight with his father... Literally, the only time I felt there was some connection between Trin and Tanwa was when Tanwa told Trin about his mother - and yet it felt abrupt for me, bcs... well... I didn't really feel like I experienced them getting close to each other.

Am I the only one who's totally not into the relationship between Trin and Tanwa?

Thank you! I couldn't find "Fan Xin" anywhere else and it happens to be my favourite song from the soundtrack!

Tell me about it. I've waited for months against my better judgement hoping for some positive news abt s2, before the final crushing resolution 🤧

As for recommendations. Hmm... If you're looking for good acting and production value then maybe Love in The Big City would be up your alley (the drama, not the movie - I haven't watched that one).
If its more about the similar soulmates vibe and emotional intensity... it's a bit difficult, I feel The On1y One was really special, but one of my favourite BLs is Japanese one Our Youth - the acting is not as stellar as here, but cinematography is beautiful and the story and relationship between the leads is so so good.

They were fantastic, if you're asking me. Still the best acting I've seen in a BL drama till this day.
I think some people felt they were too old for the role and others thought they were not hot enough 🙃

(btw I am only repeating what I used to read arnd the "western Internet" abt Chinese audience's reactions, maybe there was some nuance to their complaints I wouldn't know... but regardless, to me the casting couldn't have been better).

It wasn't the case for Chinese viewers. As far as I remember what we were told here was that a lot of negativity came from the fans of the novel who didn't like the actors casted as the leads.