lilili

Da Shen gives off domestic abuser vibes, he freaks me out

Only on Douban but I make a point of explaining it's not the actor because I don't want the fandom to jump on me

It's not! Chongqing is the biggest city in China

Aside from being boring, his biggest flaw is he has terrible taste in friends and is willing to overlook their awful behavior. Imagine dating him and having to spend time with those assholes.

Oh God thank you for saying it. It's not the actor's fault, it's the way he's written. I found out that Gong is the author's self insert and I think he made Bei boring in order to make himself look better.

It's because most of the clothing is product placements and they are trying to sell the clothes for the season ahead not the season they're in. Of course with this production because they held it for 2 years the clothes are out of date anyway.

I still hate everybody but for some reason episodes 12 and 13 got me invested in a way I hadn't been before. Maybe the storytelling got better? The stakes are higher? We're seeing more of Bei and he's making more sense as a character? Yu's war against LuanLuan in particular has me grabbing my popcorn even though the man in the middle of that mess is so not worth the attention of these two women who are way out of his league in talent and responsibility.

Episode 12 got me more invested because I loved how the director shot the scene in the movie theater and because we see a bit more of Bei's personality but I'm still not buying his explanation for how he can stay friends with these people.

Bei is not a green flag. He's a boring 2D character with no personality. Plus what is he doing being best friends with this group of assholes? Even Liu Yuning can't save this character.

I hope so because otherwise he's incredibly boring with no personality

I read that the drama was supposed to be longer but then the Chinese government said dramas couldn't be more than 40 episodes so they had to cut it down at the last minute. It explains a lot

It's never explained and that's the joke

I agree with everything you said, including Gu Chen being better than the original. It's not a bad drama at all but just isn't on the same level as the Korean version.

You get it! 👏

I think that's a very valid criticism, it would have been nice to see them back on the Rong estate

The purpose of the final arc was to contrast the matriarchal Rongs with the ultimate toxic patriarchal family. And Jianglai had to explicitly reject the patriarchy in order to be with Shanbao. That's why she kept testing him by talking about all the power and wealth he'd have as the duke's son. Would he be willing to follow in his father's footsteps and oppress women in order to gain power, status and wealth? If yes, he could never be with Shanbao. In the end, he chose the family of women which makes him the right person for her.

You're making really good points! Maybe the sister in law couldn't drug him when other people were in the room making him suspicious. But it's definitely not explained clearly! I wish it had been so we had a clear explanation for why he was so weak and emotional when Shanbao first saw him.

Yes, and also he chose to show mercy to the women in the household and didn't turn them over to the authorities. they could have been executed for what they did but instead they were just exiled.

He was being drugged the same way his brother was, that's why he was semi hysterical when he first saw RSB. But the drama didn't make it clear enough.

You're not the only one, I thought the contrast with the Rong household was fantastic and also that RSB made sure that LJL had the freedom to choose what he wanted.