7
3
The four horsemen ride again!
There appears to be two types of c-drama watchers, those who has seen L&P and those who have not. Due to some quirk of the space-time continuum, I find myself in the later group. I have since remedied that and I tender this as proof. 😉
BTW, as this drama first aired in 2022, there are already a lot of discussions and countless reviews. I shall focus on some thoughts and spare you the repetition.
There is no doubt this is a good show. While the series is tropey, it managed to weave them into an enthralling story. This is ably assisted by the acting of its young cast and interesting subject matters. I particularly enjoyed the sojourn into the programmer's world as I was a C/C++ programmer in my past life. Their struggle is real.
Our ML is a tortured soul. The FL is a strong-willed young woman who has to grow up fast to save the man she loves. As a chingu said, she must put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
I'm not saying the show is perfect. There are issues. Its unwavering focus on our OTP helps the narrative in the long run. Their journey spanning years is the backbone of this series. We are all in for a bumpy ride.
As you can imagine, they are put through the wringer, especially the ML. This is a 36 eps c-drama after all. The hour before dawn is pitch black for him. His absolute nadir starts around episode 20. Within a few eps, his world has completely collapsed. Before he sunk to his lowest point, he executed a diabolical Noble Idiot scheme. He pushed the FL away so hard that she landed on a different continent! So much pain, so much yearning.
Yes, it is the cliché "how low can he go" scenario. This also allows the writer to pave the way for his redemption in the last third of the series.
Now that we covered the rough plot outline, we need to talk about tropes. This drama is powered by four very powerful ones. I like to call them the Four Horsemen of Tropes.
The first one is the Madonna X Bad Boy trope. The ML is a genius. He is several steps ahead of his peers. The problem is that he is always misunderstood. Just name an antisocial trait and it will most likely be him. It is hard for him to make friends and even harder to keep them. The FL is the one who must do all the heavy lifting in this relationship. She is pretty and righteous.
This brings about the second Horsemen, backstabbing friends. It is sad that friendships can become toxic over time. Jealousy, ambition, love triangle, etc can strain a relationship until it turns sour. The fallout is devastating. The antagonist never walk away unscathed. Redemption is not guaranteed.
Speaking of devastating, we need to look no further than the trope du jour, Noble Idiocy. This show didn’t hold back. Our leads went from cruising along their romantic journey to taking a ride in the Titan submersible (too soon, my bad). It was a desperate act by the ML to push the FL away because he knew he is going to ruin his life. It was a difficult watch. Horsemen #3, tick.
To round out this gathering posse, we have the omnipresent Queen Bee. The FL's mum has been controlling the FL from near and far for years. She is always pulling strings and planning her life. Of course, it all comes down to "mother knows best". This creates a lot of friction for our OTP. The mum's reasoning has scant relevance in this day and age. We mustn't discount the wisdom of elders, but when it is unreasonable, biased and must be obeyed then it spells troubles. While the FL has been passively resisting her machinations for years. Ultimately, she must act to secure her own happiness.
As if to reinforce the pervasiveness of these tropes, I just finished Love For You (2026). In that drama, the ML also pushes the FL away with extreme prejudice mid show. Oh snap! Both dramas have the same FL. Is that just a coincidence or a curse?
Re-watch the whole series will be a bridge too far for me. Just the last few eps is doable. OST is fine. Production value is above average.
Credit to the production team for managing all these tropes. I won't say I enjoyed every minute of it. That is part and parcel of drama watching these days. The downside is its success helps to cement the prevalence of such tropes. You win some and you lose some. Peace.
P.S. 3 bonus observations;
* There is a Big White Truck of Doomâ„¢. Enough said.
* How come the FL's mum does not know about the OTP's relationship for 3 years?
* Love the little company that can. A lovely found family. Respect!
BTW, as this drama first aired in 2022, there are already a lot of discussions and countless reviews. I shall focus on some thoughts and spare you the repetition.
There is no doubt this is a good show. While the series is tropey, it managed to weave them into an enthralling story. This is ably assisted by the acting of its young cast and interesting subject matters. I particularly enjoyed the sojourn into the programmer's world as I was a C/C++ programmer in my past life. Their struggle is real.
Our ML is a tortured soul. The FL is a strong-willed young woman who has to grow up fast to save the man she loves. As a chingu said, she must put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
I'm not saying the show is perfect. There are issues. Its unwavering focus on our OTP helps the narrative in the long run. Their journey spanning years is the backbone of this series. We are all in for a bumpy ride.
As you can imagine, they are put through the wringer, especially the ML. This is a 36 eps c-drama after all. The hour before dawn is pitch black for him. His absolute nadir starts around episode 20. Within a few eps, his world has completely collapsed. Before he sunk to his lowest point, he executed a diabolical Noble Idiot scheme. He pushed the FL away so hard that she landed on a different continent! So much pain, so much yearning.
Yes, it is the cliché "how low can he go" scenario. This also allows the writer to pave the way for his redemption in the last third of the series.
Now that we covered the rough plot outline, we need to talk about tropes. This drama is powered by four very powerful ones. I like to call them the Four Horsemen of Tropes.
The first one is the Madonna X Bad Boy trope. The ML is a genius. He is several steps ahead of his peers. The problem is that he is always misunderstood. Just name an antisocial trait and it will most likely be him. It is hard for him to make friends and even harder to keep them. The FL is the one who must do all the heavy lifting in this relationship. She is pretty and righteous.
This brings about the second Horsemen, backstabbing friends. It is sad that friendships can become toxic over time. Jealousy, ambition, love triangle, etc can strain a relationship until it turns sour. The fallout is devastating. The antagonist never walk away unscathed. Redemption is not guaranteed.
Speaking of devastating, we need to look no further than the trope du jour, Noble Idiocy. This show didn’t hold back. Our leads went from cruising along their romantic journey to taking a ride in the Titan submersible (too soon, my bad). It was a desperate act by the ML to push the FL away because he knew he is going to ruin his life. It was a difficult watch. Horsemen #3, tick.
To round out this gathering posse, we have the omnipresent Queen Bee. The FL's mum has been controlling the FL from near and far for years. She is always pulling strings and planning her life. Of course, it all comes down to "mother knows best". This creates a lot of friction for our OTP. The mum's reasoning has scant relevance in this day and age. We mustn't discount the wisdom of elders, but when it is unreasonable, biased and must be obeyed then it spells troubles. While the FL has been passively resisting her machinations for years. Ultimately, she must act to secure her own happiness.
As if to reinforce the pervasiveness of these tropes, I just finished Love For You (2026). In that drama, the ML also pushes the FL away with extreme prejudice mid show. Oh snap! Both dramas have the same FL. Is that just a coincidence or a curse?
Re-watch the whole series will be a bridge too far for me. Just the last few eps is doable. OST is fine. Production value is above average.
Credit to the production team for managing all these tropes. I won't say I enjoyed every minute of it. That is part and parcel of drama watching these days. The downside is its success helps to cement the prevalence of such tropes. You win some and you lose some. Peace.
P.S. 3 bonus observations;
* There is a Big White Truck of Doomâ„¢. Enough said.
* How come the FL's mum does not know about the OTP's relationship for 3 years?
* Love the little company that can. A lovely found family. Respect!
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