A user on Xiaohongshu/Red Note made a video about PoJ using MDL comments. Check it out and see if your comments are in there! http://xhslink.com/o/20MAQjoWa4X
Wow I think you're so right about her not being able to do this with a completely single man. She just knows how…
I have such a fondness for this drama though because so few creators try to do anything different or daring especially in China because of all the restrictions on content. So I truly appreciate that they tried even if it fell short. I think China more than any other country in Asia really makes it difficult for anyone to make good content.
LOL ...Venting again .. Check out MDL credit list for it : NO SCREEN WRITER is listed .. DId the director just…
After talking to people and seeing Avenue X's review I'm starting to believe that the ending is an ironic comment on our expectations for a happy ever after.
Early on in the drama Bei and Xiaoxi talk about the short story collection What we Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver. Those stories are just as much horror as they are romance. So I think director and screenwriter were being very deliberate with what they did. Now for me it didn't land because I missed what they were going for and had to read other reviews to get it. But I don't think they ran out of ideas or didn't know how to end it.
Ep 22Yay yay Guan give it to that Stupid Woman who thinks she is this “wonderful “ person saving women from…
Wow I think you're so right about her not being able to do this with a completely single man. She just knows how to exploit their weakness when they are unhappy with their long-term relationships. And even Bei is still emotionally tangled with his ex so he's also vulnerable to her schemes. I'll be pondering this tonight.
I also liked Xiu and Yu's very realistic journey, more than the others. Jiang Xin is already an accomplished actress…
Thank you! Since I posted the review I've read a few things and also watched Avenue X's review and now I think the weird happy ending was intentional and an ironic commentary on the audience's expectations for a HEA. I suggest watching her review, it was enlightening.
I began reading the manhua this is based on and wow Bei is such an asshole when he first meets Liao Xi (they changed the character's name for the drama). The only reason she seems drawn to him at the start is because he isn't instantly trying to get in her panties but he slut shames her like crazy and if she felt better about herself there's no way she'd want this guy. Bei in the drama is much more sympathetic, maybe because of how Liu Yuning played him or maybe because they took out some of the toxic dialogues from the manga.
She mostly liked the drama (though like many of us she says that it's unpleasant to watch sometimes) and applauded how brave it was for director Yang Lei to take this on.
ETA: After thinking over her review, I'm starting to think those last two episodes that I thought were a ridiculous mess are actually ironic commentary on the expectations of the audience when it comes to romance.
"In the final set scene, we see Mingming and Dasheng together while Ah Qiu is left all alone. Then there's Xiaoxi, standing beside Xiaobei, crossing her arms specifically to flex her wedding ring. Interestingly, Xiaobei is complaining to his friend that the script feels 'stiff and forced.' This mirrors the show's own narrative—it’s a self-aware nod that this is indeed the 'forced' happy ending created specifically for this TV adaptation."
I thought this was really interesting and a good interpretation of that weird ass scene with Xiaxi and Bei at Gong's drama filming.
First I want to say that despite all of the problems with the drama's writing and especially the leads, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. Director Yang Lei did an amazing job of portraying the more toxic aspects of the story with the fantasy sequences, lighting, music choices, color story and staging. If you're on the fence about starting it, I'd say if you're able to deal with toxic and often unlikable characters, including the FL, and are interested in innovative filmmaking then give this a shot.
Rating: 7.5/10. That seems low but that's the rating I give to dramas with serious flaws that I enjoyed anyway.
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The drama turned into a wacky comedy in the final episode which is deranged. And we got zero sweet moments between Bei and Xiaoxi and instead an ambiguous ending that implies they're together but doesn't actually confirm it. I honestly think it should have ended when she jumped into the lake and swam away from both of them, that would have made more sense and thematically fit the rest of the drama. Instead we got this weird buddy comedy and forced happy endings for everyone.
The reveal about Xiaoxi's father was not dealt with well. She was so traumatized by discovering her father had another daughter that she entered a profession that is borderline sex work and never had a healthy romantic relationship and yet the whole thing got wrapped up in 2 minutes with no negative reaction from her and instant forgiveness for her father. The really unforgivable thing was her parents not telling her sooner, she's in her thirties so why didn't daddy say something, especially when his older daughter got married? Maybe Xiaoxi would like to meet her older sister? What a mess.
Throughout the drama I thought Olivia Wang was miscast because the character is 24-years-old in the manhua and her behavior is a lot more forgivable coming from an immature woman who doesn't know herself yet and is figuring out life. But in the final episode I realized that her performance was exactly what the screenwriter and director wanted from her. I think it was a mistake. It made her seem narcissistic, cynical, manipulative and lacking in empathy and her supposed character growth came very late and very suddenly.
Gong getting someone to film his manhua with the happy ending he wanted was pretty funny but why the hell were all his friends at the shoot? Also, the comedy is tonally completely off from the rest of the drama. Also also, I can't believe that the shoot is the only time we see Xiaoxi and Bei together after she swims away from the men at the lake. Just, wat? The last we see of Xiaoxi and Bei is Gong still carrying a torch for her to the extent he makes a fucking drama about her???? They weren't even holding hands, lawd. (FYI, the director in that scene was played by the drama's real director, Yang Lei.)
Something else occurred to me: Bei beat the shit out of Lin Chen, leaving him with bruises, bandages and a limp, but Gong openly goes after Xiaoxi but essentially no reaction from Bei except a buddy comedy. Make it make sense.
Xiu and Yu were the most realistic. My ex-husband is a musician and we went through very similar problems only he didn't cheat on me, thankfully. After we divorced we both succeeded in our careers and were much happier. I think the production did really well to show that journey. That was my favorite happy ending out of all of them.
Sen and Mingming had a lot of cute moments and I hope they go the distance but I wonder if we visit them 10 years down the road whether they'll be in the same place as Xiu and Yu.
I didn't think Luan Luan, Guan, Lin Chen and Zhan needed hints at being coupled/reconciling. It felt very forced.
This was by far the weakest episode and a very annoying ending but I will still be thinking about this drama for a long time. Some of my favorite scenes include the restaurant debacle that looked like it was filmed in a literal cage, the movie theater scene with Lin Chen and Xiaoxi. and the stage play aimed at Xiu and Yu. It's rare to see this level of creativity and risk taking in a Cdrama so I appreciate the story for that alone.
I liked the sweet flashback to how Sen met Mingming but she was already in the middle of that mess with Lun. Ugh. Too bad they couldn't meet without that relationship hanging over both of them.
Zhen's confession had me sputtering. Lying and stalking are crazytown. Why are all these women doing the most to get with Bei??? Yes he looks like Liu Yuning but otherwise there's nothing interesting about him.
Xiaoxi and Bei's confrontation was the first time I felt sympathy for her because it would hurt a lot to know that your boyfriend gave you special chocolate because his ex liked it and that he can't let go of the old car they drove together. Also getting together on the same day that Zhen lied about getting married screams rebound relationship. I think Bei has zero emotional intelligence and doesn't understand himself. He's finally got a personality, a kind of crappy one.
Got nothing to say about Gong's confession, it's 100% screenwriter needs to fill ten episodes so let's throw character development under the bus.
I love love love how they wrapped things up with Yu and Xiu! They're both better off without each other! Yu can finally shake off her mother's judgment, put 6000 miles of distance between them and live her own life happily. Xiu can wholeheartedly pursue music and live with the dog he wanted. Yes, divorce is good and necessary sometimes (there better not be a last minute reconciliation or I'll have to flip a fucking table)
Sen's proposal was very sweet and um I hope they stay the distance but I think if we drop in on them ten years from now we may see something similar to Yu and Xiu.
I approve of Xiaoxi blocking Bei and Gong but the problem is she's going to unblock them 😭 I actually liked the little scene with the cringey dialogue between Bei and Gong because Sen and Mingming were doing that obnoxious thing of being extremely coupled while they twisted in the wind.
Do you think Xiaoxi will ever ask her father about the stupid memory? Dad isn't acting guilty at all so it's going to turn out to be something innocuous and I'll have to flip another table.
There's coincidences and then there's randomly run into the ex-husband of the woman who pimped me out and ruined my life. I feel like we've entered vShort territory. But the most improbable thing about that scene was Xiaoxi expressing empathy.
Maybe I'm just numb at this point but I still have no regrets about watching this drama, everyone needs a wtf watch once in a while.
It has overthrew #HiddenLove as the most-viewed cdrama in Netflix history, and it now dominates the domestic and internationally audiences."
https://bsky.app/profile/cdramanews.bsky.social/post/3mhvbm2zpkc2t
Early on in the drama Bei and Xiaoxi talk about the short story collection What we Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver. Those stories are just as much horror as they are romance. So I think director and screenwriter were being very deliberate with what they did. Now for me it didn't land because I missed what they were going for and had to read other reviews to get it. But I don't think they ran out of ideas or didn't know how to end it.
She mostly liked the drama (though like many of us she says that it's unpleasant to watch sometimes) and applauded how brave it was for director Yang Lei to take this on.
ETA: After thinking over her review, I'm starting to think those last two episodes that I thought were a ridiculous mess are actually ironic commentary on the expectations of the audience when it comes to romance.
I thought this was really interesting and a good interpretation of that weird ass scene with Xiaxi and Bei at Gong's drama filming.
First I want to say that despite all of the problems with the drama's writing and especially the leads, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. Director Yang Lei did an amazing job of portraying the more toxic aspects of the story with the fantasy sequences, lighting, music choices, color story and staging. If you're on the fence about starting it, I'd say if you're able to deal with toxic and often unlikable characters, including the FL, and are interested in innovative filmmaking then give this a shot.
Rating: 7.5/10. That seems low but that's the rating I give to dramas with serious flaws that I enjoyed anyway.
------
The drama turned into a wacky comedy in the final episode which is deranged. And we got zero sweet moments between Bei and Xiaoxi and instead an ambiguous ending that implies they're together but doesn't actually confirm it. I honestly think it should have ended when she jumped into the lake and swam away from both of them, that would have made more sense and thematically fit the rest of the drama. Instead we got this weird buddy comedy and forced happy endings for everyone.
The reveal about Xiaoxi's father was not dealt with well. She was so traumatized by discovering her father had another daughter that she entered a profession that is borderline sex work and never had a healthy romantic relationship and yet the whole thing got wrapped up in 2 minutes with no negative reaction from her and instant forgiveness for her father. The really unforgivable thing was her parents not telling her sooner, she's in her thirties so why didn't daddy say something, especially when his older daughter got married? Maybe Xiaoxi would like to meet her older sister? What a mess.
Throughout the drama I thought Olivia Wang was miscast because the character is 24-years-old in the manhua and her behavior is a lot more forgivable coming from an immature woman who doesn't know herself yet and is figuring out life. But in the final episode I realized that her performance was exactly what the screenwriter and director wanted from her. I think it was a mistake. It made her seem narcissistic, cynical, manipulative and lacking in empathy and her supposed character growth came very late and very suddenly.
Gong getting someone to film his manhua with the happy ending he wanted was pretty funny but why the hell were all his friends at the shoot? Also, the comedy is tonally completely off from the rest of the drama. Also also, I can't believe that the shoot is the only time we see Xiaoxi and Bei together after she swims away from the men at the lake. Just, wat? The last we see of Xiaoxi and Bei is Gong still carrying a torch for her to the extent he makes a fucking drama about her???? They weren't even holding hands, lawd. (FYI, the director in that scene was played by the drama's real director, Yang Lei.)
Something else occurred to me: Bei beat the shit out of Lin Chen, leaving him with bruises, bandages and a limp, but Gong openly goes after Xiaoxi but essentially no reaction from Bei except a buddy comedy. Make it make sense.
Xiu and Yu were the most realistic. My ex-husband is a musician and we went through very similar problems only he didn't cheat on me, thankfully. After we divorced we both succeeded in our careers and were much happier. I think the production did really well to show that journey. That was my favorite happy ending out of all of them.
Sen and Mingming had a lot of cute moments and I hope they go the distance but I wonder if we visit them 10 years down the road whether they'll be in the same place as Xiu and Yu.
I didn't think Luan Luan, Guan, Lin Chen and Zhan needed hints at being coupled/reconciling. It felt very forced.
This was by far the weakest episode and a very annoying ending but I will still be thinking about this drama for a long time. Some of my favorite scenes include the restaurant debacle that looked like it was filmed in a literal cage, the movie theater scene with Lin Chen and Xiaoxi. and the stage play aimed at Xiu and Yu. It's rare to see this level of creativity and risk taking in a Cdrama so I appreciate the story for that alone.
Zhen's confession had me sputtering. Lying and stalking are crazytown. Why are all these women doing the most to get with Bei??? Yes he looks like Liu Yuning but otherwise there's nothing interesting about him.
Xiaoxi and Bei's confrontation was the first time I felt sympathy for her because it would hurt a lot to know that your boyfriend gave you special chocolate because his ex liked it and that he can't let go of the old car they drove together. Also getting together on the same day that Zhen lied about getting married screams rebound relationship. I think Bei has zero emotional intelligence and doesn't understand himself. He's finally got a personality, a kind of crappy one.
Got nothing to say about Gong's confession, it's 100% screenwriter needs to fill ten episodes so let's throw character development under the bus.
I love love love how they wrapped things up with Yu and Xiu! They're both better off without each other! Yu can finally shake off her mother's judgment, put 6000 miles of distance between them and live her own life happily. Xiu can wholeheartedly pursue music and live with the dog he wanted. Yes, divorce is good and necessary sometimes (there better not be a last minute reconciliation or I'll have to flip a fucking table)
Sen's proposal was very sweet and um I hope they stay the distance but I think if we drop in on them ten years from now we may see something similar to Yu and Xiu.
I approve of Xiaoxi blocking Bei and Gong but the problem is she's going to unblock them 😭 I actually liked the little scene with the cringey dialogue between Bei and Gong because Sen and Mingming were doing that obnoxious thing of being extremely coupled while they twisted in the wind.
Do you think Xiaoxi will ever ask her father about the stupid memory? Dad isn't acting guilty at all so it's going to turn out to be something innocuous and I'll have to flip another table.
There's coincidences and then there's randomly run into the ex-husband of the woman who pimped me out and ruined my life. I feel like we've entered vShort territory. But the most improbable thing about that scene was Xiaoxi expressing empathy.
Maybe I'm just numb at this point but I still have no regrets about watching this drama, everyone needs a wtf watch once in a while.