First half was charming. the second half lost interest. dropped it by episode 10

Things I loved:
The FL. refreshing, charming, natural looking (not overly made up). She's relaxed, confident. Has a conscience. Doesn't make stupid mistakes. Is honest with herself and the characters around her. So different from all the other longsuffering, overly optimistic or taking it on the chin without defending herself FLs. I'm not detracted by her voice or mannerisms.
The 2FL. Not a cardboard jealous backstabber!! Lovely young woman who secretly likes ML. Not a doormat. Love love love her. 2FL and ML interactions are very sweet, and you can see her realizing, "Oops. I like this guy", while ML is oblivious. And once we get into later chapters she states her motivation and doesn't back down. She's not a jerk about it. Just assertive. She wants what she wants and is not afraid to fight for it.

A lot of people online are utterly trashing the FL actress for being unattractive. Small spoiler for them: her looks remain the same throughout the show, so if you can't stand looking at her in the first episode, she won't get any more good looking to you throughout the drama. To those people, I beg you to save yourself, and the rest of us, the pain of your complaints, and watch something else with a conventionally "beautiful" actress. If you can find one we all agree with, I'll eat my hat.

Things that grew on me:
ML. Until episode 4 could not get into his personality. Found him flat. But now starting to see the charm. The first three episodes of his pouty "look off camera into the distance to convey remembering sorrowful memory" got old. By the time episode 7 rolled around, he got good.

Sadly, that's where it ended for me.

I do not like the acting of the older brother actor. He uses three expressions if you count his awkward smile . Someone had said he is miscast, and I think that's exactly it. He doesn't bring the character of older brother to life. It's disappointing because it could be so much more. He stands. doesn't use his body to emote. It's disappointing. I think he might have clinched his fist once in anger.

The ML and FL - once they get together it deflates and gets boring. FL angst and torture comes through very well. and the The kiss scene was ok but in the next scene they're just walking down the street like pals. Chemistry ends. Rather than watching episode 10 when it came out, I began watching other dramas and enjoying them more.

Finally skipped the last three episodes entirely and watched the last 5 minutes of episode 12. That was enough for me. I don't miss it.

Gave it a 6 instead of a 5 because of the well-written FL, 2FL and the hopeful beginning.

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You can't get an STD from a toilet seat, or from watching this show. thankfully.

Details from above: "Park Jae Eon finds dating a waste of time but likes to flirt. Even though he is friendly and cheerful towards all, he does not pursue others. Park Jae Eon is a master of “push-and-pull” who doesn’t get swept up in emotions. Jae Eon draws firm lines between himself and other people and doesn’t reveal how he feels."

Friendly and cheerful towards all? Um. No. Park Jae Eon is a complete slut who has sex with many women a week, and probably gives them all STDs. He sets up dates with women, then ghosts them to have sex with someone else.

He finds himself "drawn" to FL. why? because her name is Butterfly and he has a butterfly tattoo on his neck. They meet for the second time at a party. He's deciding (out loud in front of everyone) whether he should stay at the party or go get laid at his prior engagement. He decides to stay, and "gets together" with the FL. More correctly, FL sees him tonguing another woman in the alley behind the restaurant, and when he sees her, he sends the other woman away and says to FL, "I really wanted to kiss you..." Oh, the romance!!! She's smitten. He doesn't even wipe his mouth before he tongues her too. She tells him he smells like cigarettes. No, not the other woman's mouth.

They get together. He proceeds to cheat on her. Over. and Over. and Over. 2ML is kind, attentive, smart, gorgeous - everything you would want in a guy. So of course: ew. Gross.

FL finally dumps him? Or he leaves her. I can't actually remember. Then poor ML suffers. Will she have mercy on this disgusting, sleazy low life? Will they get the happy ending they so desperately deserve? Can he be cured of his syphilis? Maybe. Watch to find out. I don't want to spoil it for you.

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Discovered this 17 years later. beautiful tragic love story.

Things you need to know about me: I am a total and complete prude, I don't watch sexually explicit shows, I hate tragedies, and I hate gore. This is all of those. And it was exquisite. (I did close my eyes during the gore -- and there's a lot.) I've watched in four times since then.

This is an intense, emotionally intense sexually explicit/sensual love story. It is highly erotic, and those scenes are beautiful. (and smoking hot too.) But even their glances at each other are sensual and you see their love bloom. It's not just the sex.

It does not have a happy ending, and yet I was satisfied with the ending. More on that later.

For the homosexual relationship, the king considers the ML as his lover. But as a pedophile and sexual predator, he cannot love him. He uses him and owns him. He believes he loves him. But it is a relationship with complete imbalance of power. You can see that the ML had no choice from the beginning, has lived with the king for years since he was a little child, is under his complete control, and is effectively the sex slave of the king. Subtle glimpses of this throughout -- his humiliation that he has to wear the delicate feminine clothes that the king gifts him in front of the soldiers he leads, and the mocking he endures by the other soldiers, who all know he is the "chosen one" of the king.

He is forced by the king to have sex with the FL, but you know that he is intrigued with and interested in her beforehand -- his glimpses of her before this event, and his gentleness in their first forced encounters reveals that. By the middle he is torn between knowing he is owned by the king, and his own love for the FL. He has guilt and despair knowing he is hurting the king. You see ML's experience of Stockholm syndrome throughout the film. In contrast, the two heterosexual main FL and ML experience a sexual explosion that leads them to experience a deep love for the first time in their lives. They are clearly smitten, not just sexually. You see his utter bliss of finally feeling loved and sexually fulfilled after being with the FL in different situations, not just sex. By the middle of the film, you see the ML pursuing his own desires and wishes, and not just being used. He pursued the FL (not just sexually) as opposed to his relationship with the king, where he is the pursued, and, now knowing what love truly is, he has to bear it. For the FL, who is also being used, she also discovers that the ML loves her, and is blissful and fulfilled for the first time.

The three main actors are unbelievable in their parts. The ML actor is INCREDIBLE. His every subtle expression -- you have to see the film more than once to see how brilliant he is.

Why I was satisfied with the ending: despite knowing that their life-changing love will end in tragedy -- the ending is beautiful -- because both the ML and FL realize that the other loves them (no one ever has before) they both stand up to the king and speak their truth, despite knowing the consequences. The ML breaks free from his abuser and tells him, "I never loved you! I love the queen!!" Their love for each other has given him courage and power to break off his shackles and stand up to the king, no matter the cost. There's some misunderstanding about whether ML loves the king. It's very clear to me he doesn't and never did. There would be no need for him to lie at the end when his life as about to be over. When he turns to the king at the end, he is NOT showing he loves him. He's making sure the king is dead so he doesn't go after the queen.

It's utterly beautiful. I highly recommend it.
Sincerely, the utter prude with delicate sensibilities.

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scary real, and scary good.

I caught this on a 2 hour youtube video spun as a love story about her first love. Wrapped up in a pretty bow so nicely, that I wanted to watch the rest. I'm on episode 24 now. I am not enjoying this as a story, but more as a fascinating psychological study.

This is her life in 3 parts:

Her first love. Beautiful, realistic. Painful. Passionate love affair. They break up because he's expecting their relationship to fit in with his work, and her to sacrifice her work. Instead she tries to fit their relationship around her work. In the end both choose their work and are heartbroken. I expect if they'd both chose the relationship both would be resentful. It's no magical happy ending. Raw and realistic. BF and FL are amazing in this.

2nd phase: To try to move on from the first love, and with the best of intentions, she chooses the opposite type of man, perhaps comfort instead of passion. And in the end, the woman who doesn't want to be controlled ends up jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Actor who plays husband should get an award for his portrayal of an insecure but honest and well-intentioned man who loves this woman but takes actions based on his insecurities and morphs into a gaslighting, controlling manipulator. Actress who plays his mother, who is there fanning the flames of that insecurity and calling him to tighten the leash, should also get an award. FL who in the first part was confident, self-reliant and outspoken, now because of her child and her married status, is vulnerable, helpless, trapped, and hopeless. FL is brilliant.

3rd phase: according to the synopsis, it's her love with the dying man. Haven't gotten there yet but riveted to the story so far. As it continues I am amazed at all of the cast, but especially actor who plays the husband's. When I think he can't get any better, he does.

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zhao Lusi slays once again

Came for Zhao Lusi's wonderful acting.
Stayed for the romance.
It's quite a riveting story.


Cons:
The fourth consort's daughter's husband's nephew's wife, prince of X, and cousin on the maternal side, who is the assistant to the Marquis. That's pretty much one character out of the 50 they reference. Could NOT keep them straight. ERgo, couldn't follow the mystery and deep secret part. Like it anyway but it was exhausting trying to pay attention, stop to google the character names only to come up empty handed. Still enjoyed it.

Note;
These are not discreet war scenes. there is quite a bit of gore. Be prepared if you don't like that stuff.

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Blech - read Crime and Punishment instead. it's a fun read comparatively

Actor who plays ML has the dubious distinction of being in two of the worst Chinese dramas I have ever seen: Nevertheless, and this piece of garbage.

Utterly depressing story about how people are so dependent on apps to tell them who they like, that they don't even think for themselves. After they kiss in the alley upon meeting (gross) they have to check their love alarm app to see whether they like each other. They are relieved when the app tells them what they want to hear. More storytelling that is complete crap. Not a love story, not "feel good". You will leave feeling completely depressed, hopeless and broken hearted.

SPOILERS AHEAD
2ML "loves" FL from afar for years but never even speaks to her. He tells his ML friend/brother new on the scene that he likes her. So ML goes for it. Then the checking of the apps begins.

FL bullied and abused by her cousin for no apparent reason. Aunt hates her and abuses her and treats her so badly that she doesn't even feed her. She lives with them because her parents died in a fire. Cousin likes the ML and to break them apart, she threatens to reveal FL's "dirty little secret": that she failed to drag her parents out of the fire when she was 5 years old. And this "dirty secret" will apparently mark her as evil. Are the characters completely stupid? How is this a character flaw? The abuse is so relentless that FL feels "forced" to dump her boyfriend so that cousin will lay off her. Storytelling is complete crap.

Then there's the "love" story. She breaks off with him, resulting in us watching the ML being completely broken for years. At the end he can't love anyone else.

In the end we're supposed to have hope that maybe this broken ML can somehow love because the FL eventually found love even in this dystopian, depressing, tragic show.

END OF SPOILERS

I beg you to spare yourself. I wish I had.

Music, didn't pay any attention to it, so just gave it a 3.

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Watch if you're a diehard Luo Zheng fan, because he's good in this

Adorable romp about a mentally, emotionally and physically abusive boyfriend who sluts around with and uses other women, while she seeks to be the perfect office assistant and longsuffering girlfriend. When she finally has enough and breaks up with him, he begins stalking her with a vengeance and ramps up the abuse. After he realizes what he lost, he becomes an adorable little doormat.

But, despite how much I HATED this story, Luo Zheng delivers an amazing performance as a scary psycho narcissist changed into a remorseful man with a conscience. Luo nails the character -- esp the stalking scenes -- waaaay creepy. I've found that people either love him or hate him. In my humble opinion I think it's because he's been typecast as the stiff CEO and has been in a few BAAADDD shows. It's true he wasn't the greatest actor at the start (no formal training) and his scripts don't provide him much opportunity to do anything great. But he has grown tremendously in his acting, and there really are moments of brilliance in this show (his emotional breakdown and crying scenes. Enough about the actor, back to the show.

I was going to tank the FL actress, but then I just remember where I've seen her before: Go Ahead. She emoted beautifully there, so I can only assume the director asked her to look mournful most of the time. For me the character had little depth.

If you are a Luo Zheng fan, watch it. He's a sweet actor who becomes a scary freak. He's really good in this.
If you aren't a fan, maybe give him another chance? If you refuse to do this for me and continue to hate his acting, hate stories about abuse, the skip it.

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Terrible. No good. Bad. Gross, et al.

The only redeeming thing about this drama is the teenage scenes with Janice Wu and Luo Yun Xi. Loved them. As usual, Janice Wu creates a charming and loveable character. The ML is stoic and hard to reach, but he doesn't stand a chance with the FL. Actor played it well. The rest of it is so gross, I don't know what to say. Terrible terrible acting. I compare this show with those Chinese dramas that are two hours long with no Title, but BAD. NO continuity between the characters in the past and present. Yes, I get that she was beat down with life, but she changed into an unrecognizable character. Him too. And to blame HER when completely and utterly dumped her, the later said she was totally wrong and should have asked him about it? Nutcase. And in the present, he stalks and abuses her mentally and physically. In fact all the males are stalkerish to her. She stands there like a damp cloth soaking it all in. I don't know how many ways I can say it was revolting. And the hairstyles? What. The. Heck. And when he tells her she has a crappy haircut? I know, I'm nitpicking, but dang.

Didn't pay attention to the music, so gave it mid range.

I'm told there is a director's cut out there with the adult actors doing the childhood scenes. Why take out the only redeeming feature of the show? It would have been better for the young actors to play the adult parts in the entire show. I don't even remember the support cast.

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half point taken off because of Yang Yang's stiff acting.

ML lead actor's attempts at regalness consists of lifting his shoulders and chin and sticking his chest out. YY is great when he's portraying the crushing heartbreak over his father's treatment of him and , he has enough chemistry with Zhou Lu Si (name any actor who's ever worked with her who doesn't -- maybe the side table lamp in that one scene...) to make us swoon for them both. (the scene where she rescues him from the water, case in point) . But once they get together, he really shows no emotion with the exception of him sometimes patronizingly putting his chin down to kiss her head to show deep caring. I know he's a good actor -- haven't seen a lot of his work where he really lets loose his emotions, but I know they're out there, so I believe it was the director's decision, but for me it keeps it from reaching epic love story level that it could otherwise be. Other than that, it's wonderful. Zhou Lu Si schools everyone, once again,

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Proving Zhao Lu Si's acting genius, once again

This show has set the bar for Asian dramas for me.
Realistic, sweet, funny, heartbreaking, bittersweet and romantic.
The actors who play the FL and ML are brilliant. The connection between the two is amazing. The interactions are so natural and charming that it looks like entire scenes were ad-libbed by the actors. I wouldn't be surprised. The scenes between the FL and her brother are the same -- completely natural and adorable. The subtle physical comedy that Zhao is able to do, playing off her costars into those scenes is amazing. Just a few tiny examples: the wedding scene with her brother when they're at the table - the look they give each other while they're clapping; her expressions with the missed kiss at the skating rink. Whenever she watches the ML do something, her expressions of confusion are hilarious. I haven't mentioned the actor playing the ML yet, but he did beautifully in this drama too. The ML is roguish, loveable, heartbreaking. Will watch this again.
Special mention to the actor that plays the brother. He made his character hilarious. And the child actress: brilliant. Hope she is in a lot more shows.

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loved this

stumbled across this one . Loved every main character.
ML - great range of comedic ability and ability to show heartbreak and cry.
FL - outstanding job, physical actress, her crying is probably the top 10 I've seen. She plays two characters -- very well done. Her crying broke my heart.
2FL - refreshing!!!! LOVED her. Don't want to spoil it. Love the relationship/interplay between 2FL and FL. No backstabbing here.
2ML - he's pretty good. Loved the loyalty and the relationship between the ML and him.

some of the villains (you'll know who I'm talking about when you watch,) have a backstory that makes you understand their actions and sympathize. Not all the villains are cookie cutters. Though others in this show are cookie cutter. But, giving everyone a backstory would make show drag. Some people in real life are just jerks and even a backstory doesn't justify them.

As others have said, boss/secretary, mistaken identity, injured main character. But the refreshing writing and acting made this a great one to watch.
(only save 9s or 10s for masterpieces.)

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great acting. fair storyline

One reviewer said to be patient because this takes a while to ramp up. they were right. Like 5 to 7 episodes. Then there are a string of really good episodes. But at mile 36, I gpt really tired. Almost shelved it in the last four episodes but powered through.

The thing that saves this show from being a 6.5 is the actors, especially FL(obviously Lu Si is a genius and rocks every script she touches) and 2ML (9 tailed fox), who already acted together in Love Like the Galaxy. (note, he needs to be a ML.). ML was I guess ok. . Haven't seen him in anything else, so maybe he was directed to act just the way he acted, and I didn't like his character versus his acting. Liked the character's playfulness and mischievousness, but in the more serious parts, he just seemed bland. There are more villains than you can count. Story is convoluted and goes off in a million different directions, with a ton of characters that are hard to keep straight. I tried not to skip because I wanted to try to figure out the plot.

One of my biggest gripes is the ending. without giving too much away, we viewers waited for this ending for 40 episodes, all anticipating an amazing ending and it just fizzled out -- such a disappointment. Writers, finish what you started!!! The 2ML and 2FL ending was more satisfying than the ML and FL.

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